What Is Knee Pain?
Knee pain is not an uncommon problem since it could be caused due to several reasons. This does not mean that knee pain is not serious. At times, the pain is so severe and intense that it becomes unbearable. However, various medications and therapies have now made possible to reduce the pain and even eliminate it completely in a short time. Infections, weakness, injury and any other factor may lead to knee pain and the treatment is done according to the cause and severity of pain. It is not suggested to ignore the problem.
What Are The Symptoms Of Knee Pain?
The symptoms that evolve during knee pain depend on the cause of the pain and its severity.
Some common symptoms include:
- Noises of pop and crunch.
- Swelling.
- Instability of knee.
- Redness.
- Difficulty stretching legs straight.
One or more of these symptoms may evolve. However, victims must immediately see a doctor if the condition starts to get worse such as difficulty in standing.
What Causes Knee Pain?
Knee pain could be caused by several factors including:
- Injuries: during sports or any other event can damage tendons, bursae and ligaments. Some knee injuries that causes knee pain includes:
- Torn meniscus caused by a sudden twist of knee while lifting heavy weight.
- Patellar tendinitis due to sports and activities that involve too much jumping.
- Knee bursitis caused due to inflammation of bursae.
- Anterior cruciate ligament or ACL caused due to sports like soccer, basketball and similar sports involving sudden direction change.
- Mechanical Problems including hip pain, foot pain, Iliotibial band syndrome and interference of loose body with the knee joint movement.
- Several types of arthritis affect the knee and could eventually result in knee pain. Rheumatoid, gout, septic, osteoarthritis and pseodogout are some types that may affect knee.
- Some other problems like chondromalacia patellae in which pain arises between patella and femur, the underlying thigh bone, can cause knee pain.
What Are The Risk Factors Of Knee Pain?
The following factors can indicate a high risk of suffering from knee pain:
- Low muscle strength and flexibility.
- Biomechanical problems.
- Injury.
- Overweight.
- Playing sports like ski and basketball.
What Are The Complications Of Knee Pain?
Although knee pain is not an uncommon problem, it could lead to complications like increased pain and even disability if ignored. Such complications are possible due to a serious knee injury or a type of arthritis known as osteoarthritis.
How Is Knee Pain Diagnosed?
Since knee pain could be caused by several events or conditions, diagnosing it is not a one-step process. The following may be used to diagnose knee pain:
- Physical tests like knee inspection for swelling and pain.
- Knee X-ray.
- Ultrasound.
- Computerized tomography or CT scan.
- Magnetic resonance imaging or MRI.
- Lab tests for further analysis.
How Is Knee Pain Treated?
Depending on the factor that caused knee pain, treatment can be done through:
- Injections of corticosteroids or supplemental lubrication directly into the joints.
- Knee therapy that involves training and exercises to strengthen muscles and bones.
- Certain types of medicines to eradicate knee pain as a symptom of a condition like gout or rheumatoid arthritis.
- Arthroscopic surgery.
- Knee replacement.
- Partial knee replacement surgery.
By : Natural Health News