Knee pain: causes and treatment

Of all the joints in the human body, knee pain is the most common ailment in people. The knee joint is complex, it bears a large load during different types of physical activity, so there can be many reasons for the pain. Knee pain, even if it occurs occasionally and goes away on its own, shouldn't go unnoticed.

Causes of knee pain

knee pain
  1. Gonarthrosis or osteoarthritis of the knee joint. This disease is caused by excessive stress, trauma, excess weight, metabolic disorders. The pain usually bothers during and after physical activity, including climbing stairs, running, squatting, and gradually subsides with rest. Painful sensations are combined with a painful crunching of the joints, subsequently there is swelling, deformation of the contours of the knee, restriction and pain when moving. Often, and in young people, there is a so-called patellofemoral (patellofemoral) arthrosis, when it is the joint between the patella and the articular surface of the femur that wears out.
  2. Damage to the menisci. The knee joint has two cartilage formations: the inner and outer menisci, which provide better shock absorption. The internal meniscus suffers more often. It is important to know what traumatic and degenerative tears of the meniscus are. The first occurs with a sharp turn of the body, when the foot is fixed, jumping, falling. The pain is acute, the swelling of the joint develops rapidly, blood accumulates in its cavity, as a result of which a swelling appears above the patella. The knee may not be fully extended or the victim feels a wedging sensation, "leap" of a foreign body into the joint. Degenerative tears of the meniscus mainly occur in older people with gonarthrosis. They can occur simply when walking, when trying to sit in a low seat, or when carrying a weight. The pain gradually increases, accompanied by swelling, synovitis (inflammatory fluid in the joint cavity). Meniscus injuries also cause pain when rotating the lower leg (clinical tests carried out by the doctor are based on this), going down the stairs.
  3. Damage to the ligament apparatus. More frequent trauma or associated with meniscus tears. The knee joint has the external and internal lateral ligaments, the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments, and the patella ligament itself. Lateral ligaments are most often affected when there is a violent deflection of the lower leg outward or inward from the axis of the limb. Cruciate ligaments are damaged by rotating the lower leg, hitting it. The patella ligament itself ruptures during its traumatic dislocation. Injuries of the ligament apparatus are characterized by pain, aggravated by walking, support on the leg. Also, with significant damage, instability of the knee joint occurs in one plane or another.
  4. Arthritis. Inflammation of the knee joint of an infectious or non-infectious nature. The person experiences constant pain that increases with exertion. The joint is swollen, enlarged, hot to the touch, the skin is red. The general body temperature can also rise.
  5. Rheumatoid arthritis. It is an autoimmune disease that affects many joints, often the knee. The pain in this case is inflammatory in nature, i. e. the patient complains of it at rest, especially after the night. Movement improves blood flow and pain is relieved. The pain is accompanied by prolonged stiffness (more than half an hour). There are also other signs of joint inflammation: swelling, redness, increased temperature of the skin above it.
  6. Knee joint tumors. Pain is not a permanent symptom of cancer. With small formations, it may not be there, as well as other signs. But, if the tumor grows, affecting all the new structures of the joint, the patient begins to complain of pain. They are not associated with physical activity, more often disturbed in the second half of the night and in the morning.
  7. Osteochondropathy. These are lesions of the joint surfaces. In the knee joint, Koenig's disease can develop: osteochondropathy of the inner condyle of the thigh, as the cartilage is destroyed and its fragments can be located freely in the joint cavity, leading to an inflammatory process and blockage of the joint. Pain is felt during exertion, with the development of the disease and at rest.

Treatment

Pain is just a symptom of a disease. Its nature, location, stress dependence, time of day help, along with other symptoms, to make a preliminary diagnosis.

Treatment should be aimed primarily at eliminating a specific disease or, if this is not possible, at achieving long-term remission (a period without exacerbations), preventing progression.

Methods of treatment can be conservative or surgical.

Symptomatic pain therapy is, first of all, a group of drugs such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They are used in the form of intravenous, intramuscular injections, tablets, capsules, rectal and topical suppositories (ointments, gels, creams, aerosols).

For many diseases, the doctor can prescribe physical methods of treatment: physiotherapy procedures, dry heat or baths, semi-alcoholic compresses, therapeutic exercises in a gentle mode, wearing a bandage or orthosis.

Such therapy, along with medications, helps improve blood flow, relieve inflammation, and reduce pain. If the pain is associated with mechanical reasons (a part of a torn meniscus blocking a joint, a loose cartilage body) or conservative therapy does not give effect, then surgical techniques are used: joint debridement by arthroscopy, osteotomy, joint replacement of the knee with artificial, joint closure (arthrodesis).

If you experience knee pain, you should see an orthopedist or traumatologist (if an injury has occurred).