Knee pain has many causes varying from temporary to severe disability. For example, knee pain can occur because of severe twisting or wrenching of the knee. Or it may happen because of a sudden fall or sports.
Acute Knee Injuries
Acute problems that most often affect the knee are sprains, strains, or tears of the sensitive tissues of the knee joint. The knee parts that get affected include ligaments, tendons, and cartilage or menisci. These parts can suffer injuries due to mishaps or repeated traumas, known as an “overuse” injury.
Acute knee injuries show symptoms within minutes to a few hours following a mishap. Symptoms are pain, swelling, limited mobility, and abnormal scenarios within the knee. A knee injury can also be sound during an accident or a persistent crackling of the knee joint. However, the knee can also get locked without any symptoms of pain or swelling.
An acute knee injury usually responds well to first-aid measures. Symptoms may resolve within 48 hours. However, if symptoms persist, an orthopedic will be the best person to diagnose the underlying problem.
Chronic Knee Injuries
Chronic knee injuries develop gradually. For example, minor mechanical injuries, like knee dislocation or a progressive degenerative problem such as Osteoarthritis or rheumatoid Arthritis, are examples of chronic knee injuries.
Symptoms may vary with the severity of the condition. For example, Arthritis is a primary source of disability even if it causes minor symptoms at first.
The symptoms can appear as localized pain in the knee joint with warmth, redness, and swelling. Signs can be temporary, as in bursitis or sinusitis. Or there may be recurrent symptoms and progressive disability as with various forms of Arthritis.
Swelling may vary significantly with generalized swelling or swelling at specific places, depending on the severity of the disease.
Now, let’s have a look at five different causes of knee pain and their treatments.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is caused by degeneration of cartilage in the knee. It can get severe with time as the cartilage becomes destructed, and the femur is in direct contact with the tibia that is bone on bone.
Osteoarthritis causes unbearable pain that gets worse with activity. In addition, knee joints become stiff with prolonged sitting and may enlarge from the new bone formation at the edge of the degenerated cartilage.
Treatment options include:
- Control of pain with painkillers
- Knee bracing can also help more active patients
- Injection of hyaluronic acid can also help in treating chronic pain
- Narcotic pain medicines or knee joint replacement with an artificial joint
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis is a disease that affects the whole body, including joints. Knee joints get affected the most. It is a genetic condition that is passed from parents to their offspring.
Diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis is by symptoms that appear as morning stiffness and pain in joints. In addition, the knee of the patient seems to be warm and swollen on the touch.
Treatment Options Include:
Symptoms like knee pain can be treated using NSAIDs and prescription drugs. In addition, newer medications known as biologics are proteins that perform targeted drug medication and simulate rheumatoid inflammation. These medicines should only be taken if prescribed by a physician.
Crystalline Arthritis
Crystalline Arthritis is the most painful and severe form of arthritis caused by the crystals in the knee and other joints. This condition can cause severe knee pain.
These crystals are formed due to poor metabolism or defects in absorbing natural materials, including uric acid and calcium pyrophosphate.
Symptoms in the knee are pain together with swelling and warmth with the loss of range of motion.
Treatment options include:
- Controlling inflammation using anti-inflammatory medicines
- Improving the metabolism of various chemicals that can lead to crystal formation.
Bursitis
Bursitis appears on the skin and causes inflammation due to trauma, infection, or crystalline deposits.
Symptoms occur due to acute and chronic trauma that causes painful and swollen knees from the inflammation of the burse.
The most common bursitis is prepatellar bursitis. This type of bursitis happens in people that mostly work on their knees.
Another type of bursitis is anserine bursitis. It commonly affects the overweight and women, including athletes and sportspersons. Anserine bursitis causes pain in the bursa region and is usually worse with bending the knee or sleeping at night.
Treatment options include:
- NSAIDs
- PRICE regimen and home care
For severe bursitis, periodic steroid injections can help.
Infections
Infections like STD’s can affect the knee. Common organisms causing infections reside on the normal skin. It usually happens when the illness or specific medication suppresses the immune system.
Symptoms include knee pain and swelling. Moreover, people who suffer from an infection typically complain of fevers and chills. However, lesser severe infections may not show fever or chills. A doctor should examine any new swelling and pain in the knee for infection.
Treatment options include:
- intensive antibiotic therapy
- joint aspiration
- surgical drainage of the disease.
Jumper’s knee
It is the tendonitis of the patellar tendon. This tendon connects the knee cap to the shin bone. It is known as a jumper’s knee because it typically happens in basketball players, volleyball players, or players participating in other sporty activities.
Jumpers’ knee can present as localized pain that gets worse with activity. For example, it usually hurts more as you jump up than when you land because jumping puts more stress on the knee’s tendons.
Treatment of Jumper’s Knee includes:
- Home therapy with the PRICE regimen. (Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation)
- NSAID drugs can help stop the pain and break the cycle of inflammation.
After pain resolves, you should gradually start an exercise regimen to strengthen the quadriceps and hamstring muscles and resume your sport of choice a few weeks later.
Bottom Line
There are many causes of knee pain. When you have knee pain that doesn’t go away with medications and rest, seek doctors’ advice.
