Many people experience knee pain from time to time when bending.Sometimes knee pain occurs when walking.This is quite logical, because the knee joints almost always bear a lot of strain.They are therefore among the most vulnerable joints in the human body.However, you should know when and why knee pain occurs and how you can get rid of it.
Knee pain is a common symptom.It can occur during illness or under the influence of other traumatic factors that affect the knee both externally and internally.
The causes of knee pain are varied: from simple fatigue to intense exercise, from injuries of various kinds to diseases that affect one of the many structures of the knee joint.
How does knee pain manifest itself?
Knee pain can manifest itself in different ways.Their intensity initially depends on the type of damage and its severity.Sometimes a person complains that aching pain occurs in the knee at night after intense sports training or that mild pain occurs during physical exertion.However, a little later, a person may experience persistent severe pain in both the knee and buttock area.Therefore, it is important to identify the causes of aching pain in the initial stages.To relieve pain, sometimes it is enough to carry out just a few procedures.However, in the event of a ligament or tendon tear, surgical treatment cannot usually be avoided.If someone has very severe knee pain, you shouldn't expect the symptom to go away on its own.However, before deciding what to do and how to treat the pain, you should make a correct diagnosis and tell the doctor about all the features of the pain.First of all, you need to report whether the knee hurts when you bend it, whether you have pain or discomfort at night, whether there is pain below the knees, etc.
When does knee pain arise?
The causes of knee pain can be varied.After ligament damage due to a serious injury, severe knee pain often occurs.However, severe pain in the knee joint can manifest itself in different ways because the structure of the joint is very complex.There are a total of four ligaments in the knee that connect the femur to the bones of the fibula and tibia.If one of these ligaments tears, it causes severe pain in the injured area.This happens most often with athletes.In this case, the pain bothers you for a long time when walking, and when running, the discomfort persists even longer.
Two more ligaments are crossed in the knee.These two cruciate ligaments, the anterior and posterior, connect at the front of the lower leg.When the anterior ligament tears, a crunch occurs in the knee.Then stabbing and severe pain occurs, after which a tumor develops in the knee area.After such an injury, you must stop immediately because the damaged areas hurt so much that the knee loses stability.
If the posterior cruciate ligament is torn in a leg joint, the pain is usually less severe.With such an injury, pain occurs in the back of the knee and a feeling of instability.
Knee pain also occurs when the tendon is damaged.This disease is called tendinitis.In this case, an inflammatory process and irritation of the tendons occurs.The reasons for this phenomenon are injuries, especially in sports.Most often, such an injury occurs in both the left and right knees in skiers, runners and cyclists.Sometimes this inflammation develops in both knees at the same time.The patient suffers from discomfort and pain in the kneecap or in the front of the knee.Most often, discomfort and pain are felt when bending over.In this case, there is no need to use conventional treatment or try to use an ointment to relieve pain.Treatment for pain in the knee joint should only be prescribed after the cause has been precisely clarified.Only then can we make a conclusion about what to do and how to treat the disease.Otherwise, the disease will drag on for a long time.
Another cause of knee pain is damage to the meniscus, which is the cartilage that bends at the knee joint.Such damage can occur in different parts of the meniscus, but in any case the person develops a tumor.
Sometimes a knee injury causes inflammation of the fluid sacs that allow the ligaments and tendons to slide smoothly.In this case we are talking about bursitis, which can cause pain under the knee both in the front and in the back.When bursitis occurs, swelling and redness occur in the area of inflammation.A person feels pain while squatting, kneeling and also while straightening the affected knee.Bursitis can develop under the kneecap (so-called precap bursitis), which, if infected, leads to very severe swelling, general malaise and fever.If the infection affects the area below the back of the left or right knee, the pain on the inside of the knee becomes more severe when a person goes up or down the stairs.
Trauma, wounds, or degeneration of cartilage or bone can cause parts of the cartilage within the socket to become detached and loose.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 kneecap is displaced, a person notices the abnormal position of the kneecap: it is perpendicular to the correct position.Symptoms of this phenomenon include pain, swelling in the affected area, severe discomfort when straightening the legs and walking.Once a kneecap dislocation occurs, it often occurs again in the future.Therefore, doctors recommend special exercises to support the muscles.
When the knee joint is stretched due to injury, the knee is stretched and can bend in the opposite direction.Such damage is characterized by the appearance of a tumor and the affected person also suffers from pain on the inside of the knee.This injury is also dangerous because it leads to partial or complete rupture of the ligaments.
Chronic illnesses are a separate group of conditions that lead to knee pain.With rheumatoid arthritis, which affects all ligaments, including the knee, people not only suffer from pain in the back of the knee and in front of the knee, but also from general stiffness in movement.Gradually, the knee joints become deformed and the patient suffers from constant discomfort.In arthritis, both knees are affected at the same time;Exacerbations and periods of calm occur at regular intervals.Septic arthritis is a result of an infection.Symptoms include pain, redness and swelling.A person may feel that the pain is localized in a vein.This condition often leads to fever.
Osteoporosis, commonly referred to as degenerative arthritis, causes pain under the knee in the back and front due to wear and tear of the cartilage.The disease develops gradually;As a rule, knee pain initially causes concern when the weather changes in the morning.Later the condition worsens.Because this condition occurs less frequently in men, osteoporosis is often the cause of knee pain in women.
At the same time, the development of gout can be the cause of acute pain in the knees.This disease suddenly manifests itself with redness, swelling and severe pain.The knee joints remain in this condition for around 10 days and the symptoms only disappear after a few weeks.
However, sometimes knee pain is a result of ordinary overexertion.People who are not used to sports training may notice that their legs hurt below the knees and the knees hurt even after long distances, but also when walking when the person is already very tired.To prevent this, you need to avoid overload and gradually increase the pace of training.
In addition to the diseases and conditions described, pain in the front part of the knee joint may accompany chondromalacia of the patella.Osgood-Schlatter disease is most often diagnosed in young people who actively participate in sports.In this case, the pain can vary in intensity.People often suffer from pain in their legs below the knee.
How to get rid of knee pain?
There are a number of general recommendations, the implementation of which makes it possible to reduce the risk of developing diseases and conditions leading to knee pain.One of the causes of such diseases is obesity.In fact, in this case, the tension of the knee joints increases with any physical exertion.People who tend to be overweight are more likely to develop osteoporosis, which leads to cartilage problems.
It happens that someone experiences pain on the side of the knee when bending or in another area after putting too much strain on the muscles.This can be physical work, cycling or too intense physical activity.It is important not only to put enough strain on the body, but also to give it enough rest so that the muscles can recover.
When asked why knees are damaged, experts note insufficient muscle flexibility.If the muscles are too weak or tense, the tension in the knee joint cannot be compensated for during physical exertion or even when walking.As a result, at first it may be painful for a person to bend and straighten the knee, and later the pain may even become constant.Therefore, in this case, appropriate training and regular performance of specially selected physical exercises for building and strengthening muscles are required.
In addition, flat feet cause pain in the knee when bending and walking when one leg is shorter than the other.Such defects must be corrected with the help of special shoes, otherwise the pain can develop into chronic pain over time, and bending the leg at the knee is not only painful for the person, but also makes walking difficult.
There is no need to take risks and participate in sports competitions where the likelihood of overload is high.If a person engages in skiing, athletics, basketball or other sports where the risk of falls, injuries and overloads is increased, he must calculate his strength extremely correctly.
The risk of injury also increases if the knee has already been injured.Therefore, if you experience pain above the knee, below the knee or directly in the joint after an injury, you should consult a doctor immediately.
At the first sign of pain in the knee joint, you should definitely give your legs rest for as long as possible.You can try to relieve the pain with topical pain relievers.However, if the pain does not go away, you should definitely see a specialist.Knee pain should be treated when signs of serious injury or illness occur.So, you should go to the doctor if acute pain in the knee does not go away for several days, if swelling and vascular pain appear, if there is a deformity of the knee.It is important to treat sore knees immediately if redness and fever occur, as this is a sign of infection.
However, before direct treatment of knee joint pain can begin, a specialist must make a diagnosis.First, a complete physical examination and detailed questioning of the patient as well as the use of special tests are carried out.Next, the doctor prescribes an X-ray, CT or MRI scan.If an infection is suspected, a blood test is required.Only when the results of all studies are available can the doctor decide how to treat a painful knee.
If your knee is injured, you need to apply a bandage.However, a normal bandage is only sufficient if the injury is not serious.If it hurts a person to stand on their knee and they cannot bend and straighten it without pain, a more serious injury may be suspected.Special bandages or plasters are often required for ligament damage or sprains.
To prevent the development of a tumor during an injury, you need to apply ice to the injury site.You cannot keep the ice cream for more than 15 minutes.To prevent frostbite, you must first wrap it in a cloth or towel.
Painkillers are used as anti-inflammatory therapy for pain in the knee joints, sometimes a course of antibiotics is required.
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 office or gym at a medical facility.
Sometimes the damage is such that it is impossible to eliminate knee pain without surgery.For this purpose, arthroscopic surgery can be used, the use of which allows the operation to be carried out with minimal incisions.If there is significant damage, it is sometimes necessary to replace parts of the knee with special prostheses.Total knee replacement involves the use of prostheses made of metal, polymers and plastics.Modern medicine also uses some non-surgical methods to treat knee pain, which can achieve the desired effect relatively quickly.