Knee pain affect a lot of people in the world on a daily basis. Ranging from kids to elderly people, it has become one of the most common reasons to visit orthopedics.
Causes
There are a wide range of causes that can make individuals suffer from knee pain. Some of the most common causes include:
- Bursitis – It is caused due to irritation in the bursa. Falls, repeated bending of the knee and overuse can cause the swelling and pain.
- Dislocation – The bones and the tendons can get dislocated due to injuries, repeated movement or sudden impacts. Though can be treated easily, can bring great pain.
- Iliotibial (IT) band syndrome – This is caused due to excessive participation in activities. It causes the IT band tough tissues to get inflamed due to repeated pressure.
- Tears of tendons, cartilage and menisci – Any wear and tear of the structures of soft tissue can bring in sensations of huge pain to the knee area. The pain is further boosted by repeated movements and pressure.
- Osgood-Schalatter Disease – It is a condition that can affect kids as their bones have not changed yet. It can affect the tendon joining the kneecap to the shin.
- Osteoarthritis – It becomes more common with age. It can cause swelling and aching of the knees due to activity. It may also may the joints stiff.
- Patellar tendinitis – It may be caused due to overdoing workouts causing the tendons to swell up. It is also called as ‘jumper’s knee’.
- Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome – It is caused due to tightness of the muscles, imbalance and problems with alignment. Apart from pain, it can cause locking of the knees.
- Other causes – Some of the other causes of knee pain include infection, sprains, torn ligaments, tendon ruptures, rheumatoid and crystalline arthritis, chondromalacia patella, osteochondritis dissecans, gout, baker’s cyst, fracture and tumor.
Symptoms
The severity of the pain in your knee can vary based on the location and cause of the pain. While some causes mild pains, others can hurt your knee pretty bad. Below mentioned are a few symptoms that come with knee pain:
- Stiffness, loss of flexibility and swelling of the knee.
- The area may feel warm when touched and may appear red.
- Instability due to weakness.
- Noises of crunching and/or popping.
- Lack of ability to straighten the knee to full extent.
- Problems while bearing weight or walking.
- Discomfort causing you to limp.
- Problems going up steps and down steps.
- Knee locks.
One should consider consulting with a professional medical practitioner if:
- It is too tough to bear the pressure on your knees.
- Excessive swelling of the knees.
- Find a prominent deformity in the region of the knee.
- Pain lasting for quite a long time.
- Lack of comfort while walking on one or both sides.
- Injury causing deformity in the area.
- Suffer from knee pain while resting or at night.
- Swelling of the calf area or the joint region.
- Infection causing the pain.
Diagnosis
Though the world has made significant progresses in the world of medical industry, history still persists to be one of the most preferred ways of pain diagnosis. If you are visiting the doctor for a knee pain, he may ask a lot of questions about your past actions that may have caused or influenced the pain in your knees. The doctor may ask for the location of the pain, how it feels or about the frequency of the pain. He may want to know about any accidents or injuries that may have left some underlying cause to initiate the pain. There are a lot of other questions that your doctor may ask you while taking your history.
Physical examinations for pain diagnosis:
- You may be required to get disrobed as the doctor will be checking your knee in full exposure. It is advisable to wear shorts while going for the appointment.
- The doctor will look for the tender spot on the knee. He may inspect the knee by hand or use his tools to press around the knee to find the exact location of the pain.
- Apart from that, physicians often perform some special moves to check the pressure on the tendons, ligaments and menisci and based on the joint findings, determine the integrity for each result.
CT Scans, USG, X-Ray and other tests:
X-Ray
Based on the patient history, the doctor may prefer to take an X-Ray view of the affected area. It can be used to determine fractures, cracks and bone dislocations that may be causing the pain. It can also be used to check on the knee condition for cases of arthritis as well as for joint spaces that are small or abnormally large.
CT scan
Though not often used, doctors may ask for a CT scan report of the affected area. This can help in forming precise definition of the pain causing deformity.
Though these are the best options to diagnose bone conditions, both X-Ray and CT scan rank very bad when it comes to diagnosing conditions of the soft tissue structures. If the doctor wants to check the areas of menisci, tendon or ligaments these two are not the options at all.
MRI
This is one of the best ways used to obtain precise evaluation of the soft tissues in the knee region such as the tendons and the ligaments. This method uses a huge magnet to generate the portions of the knee in a three dimensional image.
Tests by fluid extractions
There is fluid filled in between the spaces of the knee. If there are indications of infections resulting from any reason, or crystalline arthritis, the doctor may order to extract some fluid from the region with a needle and analyze it to obtain precise diagnosis. It can be observed under the microscope to look for crystals or for infections from bacteria or pus found in the fluid. Blood tests may also be used by the physician if required to check the indications of knee pain caused due to diabetes, uric acid, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Arthroscopy
It may be required if you are suffering from chronic knee pain. An orthopedic surgeon can choose to carry this out that involves placing a telescope with optic fibers inside the knee joint through surgery. An Arthroscope attached to the camera is used to relay the obtained images to a video monitor. This can be used to check on minute particles in the joint area or to get a closer view of any damage in the cartilage or menisci tissues. The surgeon can also choose to use it for treating damage by removing damaged particles such as torn cartilage from the joint.
Treatment
The choice of treatment may widely vary on the basis of the diagnosis and root cause of the pain.
Medications
Physicians can provide prescribed drugs to beat the conditions of rheumatoid arthritis or gout. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can be used to treat swelling and pain.
Physical therapies
It may be a great option to strengthen the muscles in your knee region. Regular exercises can help to increasing stability and balance. Rectifying the patterns of suboptimal movement can also be a great option to deal knee pains. Arching can be another great way to remove the pressure from the knee. Braces are often used to protect and support the joint.
Injections
Injections may be one of the easiest ways to take care of certain conditions. Specific components are injected directly into the knee joint.
- Corticosteroids – used for conditions of arthritis to relief pain. Effects can last for some months.
- Hyaluronic acid – to lubricate the joints and ease pain alongside improving mobility for up to six months.
- Platelet-rich plasma – to promote healing and reduce inflammation for certain cases of arthritis.
Surgery
In extreme cases, surgery may be the only way to get rid of the unbearable pain. It may even be used for cases of injuries that do not require immediate action but require support in the long run. Arthroscopic surgery, partial knee replacement surgery and total knee replacement surgeries are some of the most commonly used procedures.