Of all the joints in the human body, knee pain is the most common complaint of humans. The knee joint carries a complex, heavy load during different types of physical activities, so there can be many causes for pain. Knee pains, even if they occasionally occur and go away on their own, cannot be ignored.
Causes of knee pain
- Gonarthrosis or knee arthrosis. This disease is caused by excessive stress, trauma, overweight, metabolic disorders. The pain is usually disturbed during and after physical activity, including climbing stairs, running, squatting, and gradually decreases with rest. Painful feelings are combined with painful cracking of the joints, followed by swelling, deformity of the knee contours, restriction, and pain during movement. The so-called patellofemoral (femoral-patellar) arthrosis often occurs in young people, when the joint between the patella and the femoral joint surface wears out.
- Damage to the meniscus. The knee joint has two cartilage formations - the inner and outer meniscus that provide better shock absorption. The internal meniscus suffers more often. It is important to know what distinguishes traumatic meniscus injuries from degenerative injuries. The first occurs when the body turns sharply, when the leg is fixed, bounces, falls. The pain is acute, the swelling of the joint develops rapidly, blood accumulates in the cavity, causing swelling above the patella. The knee may not be fully extended, or the victim may experience entrapment, a "protrusion, " from the foreign body in the joint. Degenerative meniscus rupture occurs mainly in the elderly with gonarthrosis. increased, accompanied by swelling, arthritis (inflammatory fluid in the joint cavity) Injuries to the meniscus also cause pain during rotation of the leg (based on clinical tests performed by a doctor), going down the stairs.
- Damage to the ligament. Trauma is more common or associated with meniscus rupture. The knee joint has the outer and inner side ribbons, the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments, and the kneecap's own ribbon. The lateral ligaments are more often affected if the lower leg bends strongly outward or inward from the axis of the limb. The cruciate ligaments are damaged by twisting and hitting the lower leg. The kneecap’s own ribbon ruptures during traumatic dislocation. Injuries to the tape apparatus are characterized by pain aggravated by walking, support for the leg. In addition, in the case of significant damage, the instability of the knee joint occurs in one plane or another.
- Arthritis. Inflammatory or non-infectious inflammation of the knee joint. The person experiences constant pain that intensifies with effort. The joint is swollen, enlarged, hot to the touch, and the skin is red. General body temperature may also rise.
- Rheumatoid arthritis. It is an autoimmune disease that affects many joints, often the knees. The pain in this case is inflammatory in nature, i. the patient complains at rest, especially after the night. Exercise improves blood circulation and relieves pain. The pain is accompanied by prolonged stiffness (more than half an hour). There are other signs of arthritis: swelling, redness, fever above it.
- Tumors of the knee joint. Pain is not a permanent symptom of tumors. In small formations, it may not be there as well as other signs. But when the tumor grows and affects all the new structures in the joint, the patient begins to complain about the pain. They are not related to physical activity, they are more often disturbed in the second half of the night and in the morning.
- Osteochondropathy. These are changes in the surface of the joints. Koenig's disease can develop in the knee joint - osteochondropathy of the inner condyle of the thigh while cartilage is destroyed and fragments can be placed freely in the joint cavity, leading to an inflammatory process and blockage of the joint. The pain can be felt during exertion, with the onset of the disease and at rest.
Treatment
Pain is just a symptom of the disease. Its nature, localization, stress dependence, time of day, among other symptoms, help to establish a preliminary diagnosis.
Treatment should be aimed primarily at eliminating a particular disease or, if this is not possible, at achieving long-term remission (a period without exacerbations) and preventing progression.
Treatment methods can be conservative or surgical.
Symptomatic pain therapy is first and foremost a class of drugs such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. It is used in the form of intravenous, intramuscular injections, tablets, capsules, rectal suppositories and topically (ointments, gels, creams, aerosols).
For many ailments, your doctor may prescribe physical treatments: physiotherapy procedures, dry heat or baths, semi-alcoholic compresses, gentle therapeutic exercises, and wearing a bandage or orthosis.
Such therapy, along with medications, improves blood flow, relieves inflammation, and reduces pain. If the pain is caused by mechanical causes (meningeal rupture of the joint, free cartilage) or conservative therapy is not effective, surgical techniques are used: joint debridementation with arthroscopy, osteotomy, replacement of the knee joint with an artificial joint closure (arthrodes).
If you experience knee pain, consult an orthopedist or traumatologist (if an injury has occurred).