Knee pain occurs in patients of all ages and lifestyles. Such pain is observed during physical activity for various reasons: from injuries or bruises to serious illnesses and inflammation. Ignoring it can have serious consequences. A frequently asked question is: What to do if you are in pain? At the first painful sensations, it is recommended to consult a doctor to prevent hospitalization; the treatment should only be carried out by a doctor.
The first manifestation of knee pain is usually caused by heavy loads, joint wear and deformation. The disease becomes noticeable not only during excessive stress, but also at rest, at rest and during everyday activities. In this article we will examine why the knee hurts, as well as the main methods of diagnosis and treatment.
What is the knee joint?
The knee joint of our body bears a large load and body weight; it is responsible for most injuries and stresses from falls, sports, and heavy lifting. The knee joint itself is one of the largest in our body.
The knee joint includes:
- the joint itself;
- muscles;
- kneecap;
- menisci;
- joint capsule;
- ends of femur and tibia,
- Ships,
- Annoy,
- Ribbons
Each of these components is susceptible to damage, although the pain is not always felt immediately. For example, with a dislocated or torn meniscus and a torn anterior cruciate ligament, mobility is restricted and vascular damage leads to a hematoma. After infectious diseases, infection can begin in the joint capsule of the knee. If the patient suffers from a neurological disease, there may be sharp pain in the knee. In addition, there may be pain in the thigh, shin and muscle areas that radiate into the joint.
Causes of joint pain
The type of pain can be divided into two groups: acute and chronic. Acute pain is characterized by rapidly developing and progressive pathologies. Chronic illnesses, on the other hand, tend to progress slowly and require lifelong treatment. The causes of such pain are different and, accordingly, so is the treatment.
Let's look at the main causes of pain.
Pain due to injury
The cause of acute pain are injuries and various traumatic influences. You can injure yourself from a serious fall, while playing sports, or from wearing uncomfortable shoes. Pain occurs a few days after the injury. Normally the knee is slightly swollen and the pain is quite bearable. Depending on the severity of the injury, abrasions may be present on the surface of the skin. In addition, being overweight, abusing bad habits and peculiarities at work and at work increase the risk of injury.
Types of injury:
- Knee bruise.Frequent and minor damage. Swelling and redness appear in the knee area and the surface temperature rises. Even a minor injury to the knee can lead to the destruction of joint tissue cells.
- Sprains.Sometimes a muscle, ligament, or tendon strain goes unnoticed and causes stabbing and stabbing pain in the knee, and the joint itself becomes unstable when the leg is stepped on.
- Torn ligaments.It can result from severely twisting the leg in an unnatural direction and can cause severe pain, swelling and swelling.
- Meniscus tear.Occurs as a result of heavy loads, a blow to the knee, twisting of the leg and due to its unnatural position. A torn meniscus results in your legs no longer being able to move normally. Commonly seen in athletes, it is accompanied by swelling, bleeding and inability to bend the leg. There is one rule when it comes to sports: your knee may hurt, but it should go away the next morning after training. If the disease does not go away, you need to see a doctor.
- joint fracture.The fracture also damages soft tissues, causing severe pain and deformation of the knee.
Unpleasant sensations in the knee are not always characterized by a disease in this area. Sometimes a herniated disc can cause knee pain at night. Complaints can also occur if the knee joint is not subjected to enough stress and the associated muscles lose their elasticity.
Asymmetry of the sacrum and pelvic bones can also provoke the appearance of pain in the knee joint. It arises from a difference in the length of the lower extremities, which can be a result of congenital characteristics or a curvature of the pelvis, also due to scoliosis.
Knee diseases
Any inflammation or damage to the knee structure causes discomfort, especially when moving. And the infection is not always localized in the knee itself. In general joint diseases, the entire body is affected; the knees are more damaged by heavy strain. Pain in the knee joint can also occur with injuries or illnesses to the spine or a fracture of the femoral neck. Let's look at some of them:
- arthritisis an inflammatory process that develops after trauma due to infection or metabolic problems. If left untreated, the cartilage in the knee joints continues to wear down, leading to increased pain.
- Rheumatoid arthritis- an autoimmune disease in which the body's own immune cells negatively affect the tissue. The joint loses mobility, swelling occurs, pain is constant and manifests itself in an increased feeling of stiffness.
- rheumatism– As a rule, young people are susceptible to it, but so are people who have recently had streptococcal disease. Characterized by alternating unpleasant sensations.
- Gonarthrosis (osteoarthritis).It develops in one or both knees. This disease is characterized by the occurrence of degenerative-dystrophic processes with the growth of connective and bone tissue, which impairs movement. At the beginning of the disease, symptoms only appear after a long walk, but as the disease progresses, pain occurs even after short walking distances. It is difficult to get up from a chair, squat, or walk up the stairs. The pain doesn't just bother you when you're resting. The shock-absorbing cartilage tissue is destroyed or thinned. When gonarthrosis develops, a crunch in the knee and deformation of the joint are noted.
- Reactive arthritis– begins a few days after an intestinal infection. Severe pain combined with swelling and redness of the skin over the right or left knee usually indicates reactive arthritis.
- Bursitis– Inflammation of the joint capsule, causing severe pain and discomfort during movement.
- Periarthritis– Inflammation of the tendons, muscles and ligaments around the knee joint. Painful sensations occur with increased load on the bent leg.
- Chondropathy– Destruction of the cartilage that surrounds the knee joint and cushions friction and shock.
- neoplasms– When they occur, the vessels are compressed and the joint capsule is deformed, causing pain and limiting mobility.
- osteoporosis– The tissue becomes weaker, more brittle, and the calcium content in the bones gradually decreases.
- Osteomyelitis– Inflammation of the bone tissue occurs in the affected area, accompanied by swelling, fever and acute severe pain.
- arthrosis– The inflammation of the joint capsule gradually spreads to the bone heads. The cartilage wears down and becomes thinner, meaning the heads of the bones can no longer slide easily when the limb moves. Aching pain occurs.
- arthrosis– a disease that affects all components of the joint.
- Patellofemoral pain syndrome– often occurs in young patients. During physical activity, the kneecap moves forward. This happens due to incorrect foot position, excessive and heavy strain on unprepared muscles.
- Osgood-Schlatter disease– Knee pain when bending over, climbing stairs, doing squats.
- Nerve damage and disorders of the nervous tissue.There is stabbing pain, numbness and tingling in the lower limbs, and loss of mobility. A pinched nerve occurs due to inflammation, neoplasm, or previous injury. Or neuritis develops - an inflammation of the nerve in one or more areas. Severe pain is felt, mobility and sensitivity are limited and the extremity contracts involuntarily.
- Impaired blood supply.
- Various other infectious diseases.Complications that arise contribute to the appearance of weakness and pain.
In addition to the listed diseases, others can contribute to the occurrence of pain: synovitis, ligamentitis, tendinitis, gout, neuropathy, cyst and others.
Pain in the knee is therefore always a sign of a pathological process that affects the cartilage, bone or soft tissue structures of the knee itself, or of damage to the nerve that innervates it.
Diagnosis of knee pain
In order to start treatment, it is necessary to make an accurate diagnosis by a doctor in the clinic using diagnostic measures.
The patient seeks an appointment with an osteopath, orthopedic traumatologist, surgeon or rheumatologist. If necessary, the patient can be referred to another specialist after examination and examination.
At the appointment, the doctor takes an anamnesis - complaints, symptoms and problems affecting the patient, infections and chronic diseases. The doctor can then palpate the affected area and ask the patient to perform various movements and tests. For example, bend and straighten your knee. This provides initial indications of the degree of discomfort.
To obtain additional information and make an accurate diagnosis, the patient is sent for one or more examinations:
- radiography (X-ray);
- Ultrasound examination (ultrasound);
- magnetic resonance therapy (MRI);
- Computed tomography (CT);
- Arthroscopy (a special instrument, an endoscope, is inserted into the joint);
- puncture to collect synovial fluid;
- Laboratory tests (general and biochemical blood tests, serological tests).
Depending on the contraindication, MRI and CT are used to diagnose nerve diseases. Some diagnoses require more detailed testing.
To relieve knee pain, you can visit an osteopath, physical therapist, chiropractor, or massage therapist. An osteopath helps to restore the normal position of the pelvic bones and internal organs, which has a positive effect on their functioning, improves the nutrition of all spinal structures by activating blood circulation, and improves posture by eliminating spinal deformities.
Treatment of knee pain
It is impossible to choose the best medication for knee pain alone. This is because it is first necessary to establish the true cause of the symptoms and determine the nature of the pathological disorders in the body.
The treatment of the knee joint is comprehensive. This package of measures includes:
- Medicines (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or chondroprotectors - their effectiveness lies in preserving moisture in the cartilage cells, inhibiting the enzymatic action and stopping the degenerative process);
- preparations, solutions for external use;
- osteopathy;
- Carrying out special exercises and gymnastics, physiotherapy;
- physiotherapy techniques;
- massages;
- Vitamin complexes are medicines designed to improve metabolic processes in the body.
Various types of physical therapy treatments can be used to treat musculoskeletal disorders that cause knee pain.
Exercise therapy courses are simple and accessible to people of all ages, as an individually designed program ensures precisely dosed loads. For complex therapy, local painkillers are also prescribed, for example, an ointment with dimethyl sulfoxide (there are contraindications: serious diseases of the kidneys, liver, cardiovascular system, pregnancy, breastfeeding) or an anti-inflammatory gel - it is absorbed immediatelyBlood enters the skin, penetrates into its deep layers, relieves swelling and pain.
Pain can also be eliminated using radiofrequency techniques: morphological changes remain, but the pain subsides and becomes lighter. In addition, special orthoses are often prescribed - bandages, knee pads, splints, tapes, plaster casts and similar aids. This allows you to transfer and relieve stress from the knee, reducing the risk of re-injury and promoting rapid rehabilitation. Plasmolifting is rarely used - it involves injections of plasma obtained from the patient's own blood directly into the affected knee joint or the surrounding soft tissue.
Sometimes bone correction or surgery is performed (e. g. when bone fragments need to be removed).
The doctor also prescribes painkillers that do not have a negative effect on the joint cartilage.
Pay attention to your diet - a balanced diet can prevent inflammation.
If you have problems with your knee, you should not self-medicate and seek various procedures to avoid surgical intervention (surgery) and possible complications. This attitude can only make the situation worse and require more serious and complex therapy. Therefore, it is important to consult a doctor who will make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe competent treatments, procedures and effective medications. Take care of yourself and your health!