Many people experience knee pain from time to time when bending.Sometimes pain occurs in the knee while walking.This is completely logical, because the knee joints almost always carry a large load.Consequently, they are one of the most vulnerable joints in the human body.But you still need to know when and for what reasons knee pain occurs and how to get rid of it.
Knee pain is a common symptom.It can occur during illness or as a result of other traumatic factors that affect the knee both externally and internally.
Knee pain can have many causes: from simple fatigue to too intense sports, various types of injuries to diseases affecting many structures of the knee joint.
How does knee pain manifest itself?
Knee pain can manifest itself in different ways.First, their intensity depends on the type and severity of damage.Sometimes a person complains that after intense sports training, aching pain in the knee occurs at night, or minor pain occurs during physical exertion.A little later, however, a person may be disturbed by constant severe pain, both in the knee and in the back.Therefore, it is important to determine the causes of painful pain at the initial stage.Sometimes a few procedures are enough to relieve the pain.But in the case of torn ligaments or tendons, surgical treatment is usually unavoidable.In any case, if someone has very severe knee pain, you should not expect the symptom to go away on its own.But before you decide what to do and how to treat the pain, you need to make a correct diagnosis and inform the doctor about all the characteristics of the pain.First, you need to report if your knee hurts when you bend it, if you have pain or discomfort at night, if you have pain below the knee, etc.
When does knee pain develop?
The causes of knee pain can be many.Severe knee pain often develops after ligament damage from a serious injury.However, severe pain in the knee joint can manifest itself in different ways, since the structure of the joint is very complex.There are a total of four ligaments in the knee that connect the femur to the fibula and tibia bones.When one of the ligaments is torn, severe pain occurs in the damaged area.This most often occurs in athletes.In this case, the pain bothers a person for a long time while walking, and the discomfort lasts even longer while running.
Two more ligaments are cut inside the knee.These two cruciate ligaments, the anterior and posterior, join at the front of the lower leg.When the anterior ligament tears, the knee pops.Then there is a sharp and strong pain, after which a tumor develops in the knee area.After such an injury, you need to stop immediately, because the injured areas hurt so much that the knee loses its stability.
If the posterior cruciate ligament tears in a leg joint, the pain is usually less intense.In such an injury, pain occurs in the back of the knee and a feeling of instability.
Knee pain also develops if the tendon is damaged.This disease is called tendinitis.In this case, an inflammatory process and irritation of the tendons develop.The reason for this phenomenon is injuries, primarily in sports.Most often, such injuries occur in both the left knee and the right knee in skiers, runners and cyclists.This inflammation sometimes develops in both knees at the same time.The patient feels discomfort and pain in the patella or the front of the knee.Most often, discomfort and pain are felt when bending.In this case, it is not necessary to apply traditional treatment or use an ointment to relieve the pain.Treatment of knee joint pain should only be prescribed after the exact cause has been determined.Only then can we draw a conclusion about what to do and how to treat the disease.Otherwise, the disease will last a long time.
Another cause of knee pain is damage to the meniscus, which is the cartilage that bends in the knee joint.Such damage can occur in different parts of the meniscus, but in all cases a tumor develops in humans.
Sometimes when the knee is injured, the sacs of fluid that allow the ligaments and tendons to slide smoothly become inflamed.In this case, we are talking about bursitis, which can cause pain under the knee both in front and behind.In case of bursitis, swelling and redness appear in the area where inflammation develops.A person also feels pain when squatting, kneeling, and straightening the affected knee.Bursitis can develop under the knee cap (called precap bursitis) and when it becomes infected it causes very severe swelling, general malaise and fever.If the infection affects the back area below the left or right knee, the pain on the inside of the knee becomes severe when someone walks up or down stairs.
When trauma, wounds, or degeneration of cartilage or bone occurs, parts of the cartilage can detach and loosen in the cup.A person does not think about how to treat this condition until the loose body begins to interfere with the movement of the joint.In this case, pain occurs.
When the patella moves, one notices the abnormal position of the patella: it becomes perpendicular to the proper position.The symptoms of this phenomenon are: pain, swelling in the affected area, severe discomfort when stretching the legs and walking.A single dislocation of the patella often occurs in the future.Therefore, doctors advise to do special exercises aimed at supporting the muscles.
When the knee joint expands due to injury, the knee becomes tight and can bend in the opposite direction.Such damage is characterized by the appearance of a tumor, and a person is also bothered by pain on the inside of the knee.This injury is also dangerous because it leads to partial or complete tearing of the ligaments.
Chronic diseases are a separate group of diseases that cause knee pain.In the case of rheumatoid arthritis, which affects all the ligaments, including the knee, a person suffers not only from pain in the back of the knee and in front of the knee, but also from general stiffness of movement.Deformation of the knee joints occurs gradually, the patient suffers from constant malaise.In case of arthritis, both knees are affected at the same time;periodic exacerbations and periods of rest occur.Septic arthritis is the result of infection.Symptoms are pain, redness, swelling.A person may feel that the pain is localized in a vein.This condition often leads to fever.
Osteoporosis, also known as degenerative arthritis, causes pain below the knee in the back and front due to wear and tear of the cartilage.The disease develops gradually;usually knee pain is initially worried when the weather changes, in the morning.Later the condition worsens.Since this disease develops less often in men, osteoporosis is often the cause of knee pain in women.
At the same time, acute knee pain can be caused by the development of gout.This disease appears suddenly with redness, swelling and severe pain.The knee joints remain in this state for about 10 days, and the discomfort disappears only after a few weeks.
Sometimes, however, knee pain is the result of habitual overuse.People who are not used to sports training may notice that the legs below the knees and the knees themselves hurt after running long distances or when walking when you are very tired.To avoid this, it is necessary to avoid overloading and gradually increase the pace of training.
In addition to the diseases and conditions described, pain in the front of the knee joint can accompany chondromalacia of the patella.Osgood-Schlatter disease is most often diagnosed in young people who are active in sports.In this case, the pain can be of different intensity.A person is often bothered by pain in the legs below the knee.
How to get rid of knee pain?
There are several general recommendations that can be followed to reduce the risk of developing diseases and conditions that lead to knee pain.One of the causes of such diseases is excess weight.In fact, in this case, the tension in the knee joints increases with any physical effort.People who are overweight are more likely to develop osteoporosis, which leads to cartilage problems.
It happens that a person has pain on the side of the knee when bending or in another area after overstraining the muscles under excessive load.This can be physical work, cycling or too intense training.In such cases, it is important not only to give the body a suitable load, but also to ensure sufficient rest so that the muscles can recover.
In response to the question of why the knees are injured, experts note the insufficient flexibility of the muscles.If the muscles are too weak or tense, the tension in the knee joint is not relieved during physical effort and even when walking.For this reason, bending and straightening the knee may be painful at first, and later the pain may even become permanent.Therefore, in this case, it is necessary to regularly perform proper training and specially selected physical exercises to develop and strengthen the muscles.
Also, knee pain when bending and walking occurs with flat feet, when one leg is shorter than the other.Such errors must be corrected with the help of special shoes, otherwise over time the pain may become chronic, and not only bending the knee of the leg, but also walking will be painful.
There is no need to take risks and participate in sports competitions where there is a high probability of overload.If one skis, runs, plays basketball, or participates in other sports where the risk of falls, injuries, and overloads increases, one must calculate one's strength extremely correctly.
The risk of injury also increases if the knee has been injured before.Therefore, if you feel pain above the knee, below the knee or directly in the joint after an injury, see a doctor immediately.
At the first sign of knee joint pain, be sure to rest your leg as long as possible.You can try to relieve the pain with topical pain relievers.But if the pain does not go away, you should definitely consult a specialist.Knee pain should be treated when there are signs of serious injury or illness.Therefore, it is worth seeing a doctor if the acute pain in the knee does not go away for several days, if there is swelling and pain in the vascular system, if there is deformation of the knee.It is important to treat sore knees immediately if redness and fever develop, as this is a sign of infection.
However, before starting the direct treatment of knee joint pain, a specialist must make a diagnosis.Initially, a complete physical examination and detailed questioning of the patient is carried out, and special tests are used.Then the doctor prescribes an X-ray, CT or MRI.If infection is suspected, a blood test is required.Only with the results of all the tests can the doctor determine how to treat your painful knee.
If the knee is injured, a bandage must be applied.However, regular bandaging is only sufficient if the injury is not serious.If it hurts to stand on your knees, if you cannot bend or straighten them without pain, then a more serious injury can be suspected.When ligaments are damaged or sprained, special bandages or casts are often required.
In order to prevent the formation of a tumor during the injury, ice should be applied to the injury site.You can keep the ice for no more than 15 minutes, and to avoid freezing, you must first wrap it in a cloth or towel.
Pain relievers are used as anti-inflammatory therapy to treat knee pain, and sometimes a course of antibiotics is needed.
Physiotherapy is also practiced.Some exercises can be done at home, but during intensive recovery, your doctor will prescribe a visit to a physical therapy clinic or a gym at a medical facility.
Sometimes the nature of the damage is such that it is impossible to get rid of knee pain without surgery.Arthroscopic surgery can be used for this purpose, the use of which allows the operation to be performed through minimal incisions.If the damage is significant, it is sometimes necessary to replace parts of the knee with special prostheses.Total knee replacement refers to the installation of prostheses made of metal, polymers and plastics.Even in modern medicine, some non-surgical methods are used in the treatment of knee pain, which enable the desired effect to be achieved relatively quickly.