Of all the joints in the human body, knee pain is the most common complaint of people. The knee joint is complex, carries a large load during different types of physical activity, so there can be many reasons for pain in it. Knee pain, even if it appears occasionally and goes away on its own, should not go unnoticed.
Causes of knee pain
- Gonarthrosis, or osteoarthritis of the knee. This disease is caused by excessive stress, trauma, excess weight, metabolic disorders. The pain usually bothers me during and after physical activity, including climbing stairs, running, squatting, and gradually decreases with rest. Painful sensations combine with a painful crackling in the joints, followed by swelling, deformity of the knee contours, restriction, and pain during movement. Often, and in young people, a so-called patellofemoral (femoral-patellar) osteoarthritis is observed, when it is the joint between the patella and the articular surface of the femur that is consumed.
- Meniscus damage. The knee ligament has two cartilaginous formations - the inner meniscus and the outer meniscus, which provide the best shock absorption. The inner meniscus suffers more often. It is important to know which traumatic and degenerative meniscus injuries are distinguished. The first occurs with a sharp twist 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, due to which a swelling appears on the patella. The knee may not be fully extended or the victim experiences a wedge-like sensation, "jumping" from a foreign body into the joint. Degenerative meniscus ruptures occur mainly in the elderly with gonarthrosis. They can occur simply when you walk, when you try to sit in a low place or when you carry a weight. The pain gradually increases, accompanied by swelling, synovitis (inflammatory fluid in the articular cavity). Meniscus injuries give pain even during the rotation of the lower leg (on this basis are based clinical tests performed by the doctor), lowering the scales.
- Damage to the ligament apparatus. Trauma more frequent than or accompanied by meniscus rupture. The knee ligament has the external and internal lateral ligaments, the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments, and the patellar ligament itself. The lateral ligaments are most often affected when there is a violent deviation of the lower leg from the outside or inside of the limb shaft. The cruciate ligament is damaged by twisting the lower leg, hitting it. The ligament of the patella itself breaks during its traumatic dislocation. Injuries of the ligament apparatus are characterized by pain, aggravated by walking, support in the legs. In addition, with significant damage, knee joint instability occurs in one plane or another.
- Arthritis. Knee inflammation 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. Overall body temperature may also rise.
- Rheumatoid arthritis. It is an autoimmune disease that affects many joints, often the knee. The pain in this case is of inflammatory nature, d. m. th. the patient complains about it at rest, especially after night. Movement improves blood circulation and pain is relieved. The pain is accompanied by prolonged stiffness (more than half an hour). There are other signs of inflammation of the joints: swelling, redness, increase in skin temperature over it.
- Knee tumors. Pain is not a permanent symptom of tumors. 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, most often disturbed in the second half of the night and in the morning.
- Osteochondropathy. These are lesions of the articular surfaces. Koenig's disease can develop in the knee joint - osteochondropathy of the inner condyle of the thigh, while the cartilage is destroyed and its fragments can be placed freely in the joint cavity, leading to an inflammatory process and blockage of the joint. The pain is felt during exertion, and with the development of the disease and at rest.
Treatment
Pain is just a symptom of a disease. Its nature, localization, 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 irritation), preventing progression.
Treatment methods can be conservative or surgical.
Symptomatic pain therapy is, first of all, such a group of drugs as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Used in the form of intravenous, intramuscular injections, tablets, capsules, rectal suppositories and topically (ointments, gels, lotions, aerosols).
For many diseases, the doctor may prescribe physical methods of treatment: physiotherapy procedures, dry heat or baths, semi-alcoholic compresses, therapeutic exercises in a gentle way, bandaging or orthoses.
Such therapy, along with medications, helps improve blood circulation, relieve inflammation, and reduce pain. If the pain is accompanied by mechanical causes (a part of the torn meniscus blocking a joint, a free cartilage body) or conservative therapy does not work, surgical techniques are used: joint debridement with arthroscopy, osteotomy, replacement of the knee joint with aartificial, key closure (arthrodesis).
If you have knee pain, you should consult an orthopedist or traumatologist (if an injury has occurred).