What Are The Possible Causes Of Knee Pain

Many conditions and injuries can make your knees hurt. Some common knee pain causes can include overuse, injuries and arthritis.

Overuse

Repetitive activities can lead to pain Some examples are:

• Patellofemoral pain : pain under or around the kneecap, often related to mechanics, shape of the knee cap, or
• Osgood-Schlatter disease: In children, swelling in the shinbone below the kneecap due to overuse.
• Tendonitis, involving the quadriceps or patella tendon: repetitive jumping sports such as volleyball or basketball.

Injury

Sudden trauma can damage parts of your knee joint. Common knee injuries can include:

• Anterior cruciate ligament injury or medial collateral ligament injury: Damage to the main stabilizing ligaments of the knee.
• Bursitis: Inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs that cushion the knee joint.
• Kneecap dislocation: Movement out of place by your kneecap .
• Meniscus tear: Tear in the knees cartilage .

Arthritis

Arthritis is a condition that can impact many different joints in your body. When you have arthritis in your knee, it causes the joint to swell. This can be a painful condition. Arthritis in your knee is more likely to develop over time as you age. There are several different types of arthritis that can affect the knees, including:

How To Prevent Knee Pain When Bending

Before you begin having serious problems with your knees, there are prevention tips to incorporate into your daily living.

• Strengthen knee muscles with exercises for the thighs
• Always stretch before and after a workout or exercise routine
• Do strength training exercises for your back and abdominal muscles
• Use proper posture when performing tasks, sitting, standing, and walking
• If standing for prolong periods, shift weight from one foot to the other or alternate feet using a foot rest
• Avoid placing strain on knees with bending or squatting by using proper techniques
• Follow a healthy diet to maintain good health of the muscles

Having knee pain when bending can limit your daily activities and may lead to further complications. Our knees allow us to move in many ways, and we depend on the proper functioning of the kneeâs many components. An injury or disease to any part of the knee can be debilitating. Good health and strengthening exercises for the knee joint and its connecting partners are key to maintaining pain-free movement.

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When To Seek Medical Help

If your injury is mild, you may be able to manage your symptoms yourself, without seeking medical advice. But you should see a doctor if:

• you cant put weight on the affected leg
• you have severe pain, even when youre not putting weight on it
• your knee gives way, clicks or locks
• you cant move your knee
• your knee is hot, red or very swollen or you have a fever

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Anterior Knee Pain Causes In Young Athletes:

Before you read this, it is worth repeating the majority of you will not have the issues that I outline below. The majority of you will have pain due to a gait abnormality or muscle imbalance. We all feel the need to have a specific label for why our knee hurts. Anterior knee pain due to muscle imbalance just doesnt cut if for some of you you want something more specific. I understand that.

The point I am trying to make is, if you assign the cause of your pain to a specific structural finding or something that your MRI report mentioned, then you may have difficulty getting past that and buying into the PT or exercise strategies that have been shown to work.

• Chondromalacia: Chondromalacia is likely a very early sign of arthritis. It involves the softening of the cartilage under your patella . As the cartilage softens, it is thought that it irritates other tissue in the knee with certain activities. Im not convinced that this is a common cause of anterior knee pain. Chondromalacia is very common, even in people with no pain.

We find chondromalacia in so many people at the time of surgery for other things, such as an ACL tear. And those people rarely have pain in the front of their knee. So it is not entirely clear why some people might have pain due to chondromalacia, and others do not. Surgery is rarely needed.

Is The Sound That My Knee Makes Bad

As we reviewed in a popular post about the sounds that our knees make, we discussed that the majority of these sounds are not mechanical or dangerous! That means that you are probably not bone on bone or grinding away the insides of your knee when you bend it. Yes, these sounds can be annoying or even embarrassing, but they are rarely dangerous. The most common cause of this grinding sensation or sound is actually due to inflammation of the tissues inside the knee. You do not need cortisone or lubricating injections to treat these sounds or sensations.

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Burning Pain When Sitting Still

Some people feel more pain at night than during the day.

You might feel more pain when youre sitting still. Some of us are just too busy to monitor pain. We need debilitating pain to tell us to slow down and be still.

So when you sit down and take a break, do not be surprised if the little niggles of pain begin to visit you.

Your nightly knee pain can also come from reduced hormone signals. When you rest, your hormone signals are reduced. These reduced hormone signals give way for pain signals to reach the brain.

So youll feel pain as you try to nod off.

Your blood vessels may also be the culprit for pain at night. When you sleep, your blood vessels increase in diameter. This is a natural process that allows more blood to come to muscles, allowing them to heal.

However, those expanding blood vessels can put pressure on your nerves. This will cause pain such as pain in your knee even as you try to sleep.

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Complementary And Alternative Therapies

A number of mind-body therapies may be used to treat knee pain. These include:

These are especially common for knee osteoarthritis.

The once-popular supplements glucosamine and chondroitin have fallen out of favor for knee osteoarthritis due to a lack of scientific proof. Always talk to your healthcare provider before taking any supplements or medications.

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How Can I Prevent Runner’s Knee

• Keep your thigh muscles strong and limber with regular exercise.
• Use shoe inserts if you have problems that may lead to runner’s knee.
• Make sure your shoes have enough support.
• Try not to run on hard surfaces, like concrete.
• Stay in shape and keep a healthy weight.
• Warm up before you work out.
• Donât make sudden workout changes like adding squats or lunges. Add intense moves slowly.
• Ask your doctor if you should see a physical therapist.
• If your doctor or physical therapist suggests it. Try a knee brace when you work out.
• Wear quality running shoes.
• Get a new pair of running shoes once yours lose their shape or the sole becomes worn or irregular.

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What Are The Symptoms Of Runner’s Knee

These are the most common symptoms of runner’s knee:

• Pain in and around the kneecap that happens when you are active. Or pain after sitting for a long time with the knees bent. This sometimes causes weakness or feelings of instability.

• Rubbing, grinding, or clicking sound of the kneecap that you hear when you bend and straighten your knee

• Kneecap that is tender to the touch

The symptoms of runner’s knee may look like other conditions and health problems. Always talk with your healthcare provider for a diagnosis.

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How Can I Ease Knee Pain At Home

Your doctor or physical therapist can recommend home care to relieve knee pain. These may include:

• Applying heat or ice packs.
• Modifying activities to avoid causing pain.
• Practicing gentle stretches or exercises.
• Taking over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen.
• Topical treatments such as muscle creams or rubs.
• Wearing a brace to support the knee.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Sprain/strain

Cause & Symptoms

If you watch or play sports you are probably quite familiar with ACL injuries. These injuries typically occur during player on player contact , or noncontact, occurring at high speeds where an athlete attempts to brake or change direction .9 Women are almost twice as likely to experience an ACL injury. Pain and dysfunction localized at the front of the knee will begin immediately after the injury. Additionally, due to the nature of the injury, other knee structures such as the lateral and medial collateral ligamentsoften experience trauma as well.

Treatment

Over 70% of ACL injuries require surgery.9 One common issue after injury and the subsequent surgery is poor proprioception your ability to sense the position of a joint in time and space. Ligaments are rich in receptors that enable proprioception. As a result, when you injure your ACL you will experience joint instability. Overcoming this requires months of commitment to strengthening and balancing exercises.

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When Will My Kneecap Start To Feel Better

One broad caveat to keep in the back of your mind. Many of you are thinking that a few weeks are enough time to start to see improvements with treatments such as exercise or physical therapy. Sadly thats not going to happen. It is not unusual for it to take 3-4 months before you start to see significant improvement in your pain. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for it to take 8-12 months for a complete resolution of your symptoms. This is important I wouldnt want to seek a surgeons consultation because 4-6 weeks of therapy and exercise left you with persistent pain.

Down below.. under coping strategies, we list a few things to try that can calm down your pain while we give the exercise time to work.

Causes Of Anterior Knee Pain In Children And Teens

Anterior knee pain can be caused by:

• Abnormal alignment of the lower extremities
• Abnormal position of the kneecap
• Muscle tightness or weakness in the front and back of the thigh
• Overuse of the leg from repetitive impact activity such as jumping, running, twisting, or participating in competitive sports
• Contact injuries that may have caused breaks in the bone or cartilage
• Dislocations or ligament injuries
• Synovial impingement pinching of the inner lining of the knee when moving

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Why Do My Knees Hurt Common Causes

Your knee is a complex structure. It includes three bones:

• The bottom of the thighbone
• The top of the shinbone

Strong ligaments and tendons hold these bones together. Cartilage under the kneecap cushions and stabilizes the bones.

Any damage or disease in these structures can lead to knee pain. Common causes of knee pain include:

Chronic Degenerative Meniscal Tear

If you’ve experienced swelling, joint pain, and a sensation that your knee is sticking or locking, the problem could be a chronic degenerative meniscal tear.

A meniscus is a rubbery cartilage cushion in your knee that helps to pad the joint. Each of your knees has two of them. “Sometimes these structures are torn during an injury, but in degenerative cases, the cartilage just becomes frayed and worn over time, resulting in a breakdown or tearing of the tissue,” says Dr. Breslow. When a meniscus is frayed, ragged edges or loose pieces may get stuck in the joint when it’s moving, causing a sensation that your knee is locking up. If this is happening, be sure to see your doctor.

How to treat it: Surgery is no longer the first-line treatment for this condition, says Dr. Breslow. “It used to be that most people got referred for an arthroscopic procedure to remove the torn meniscus or repair it,” she says. “But now research is showing that, in many cases, the condition can be treated non-operatively just as effectively.”

Clinicians are now more likely to recommend treating the condition with physical therapy. As is the case with patellofemoral pain syndrome, building up the muscles around the joint and in other parts of the body can ease pain, without the risk of complications. However, you may need surgery if a piece of the meniscus is interfering with the motion of the joint.

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What Is Anterior Knee Pain Commonly Known As Runner’s Knee

Teenagers who participate in sports often develop an achy pain in the kneecap. This prolonged pain in the front of the knee, called anterior knee pain, is fairly common in young athletes and is typically aggravated with physical activity.

This condition is also known as patellofemoral pain, chondromalacia of the patella or “runner’s knee” and is due to abnormal tracking of the kneecap.

Years Of Wear And Tear Can Take A Toll On Your Knees But There Are Strategies To Relieve Pain

Whether it’s a sharp pain or a dull ache, knee pain is a common problem in women particularly older women. One study of women ages 50 and older, published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, found that nearly two-thirds had some type of knee pain during the 12-year study period.

Dr. Rebecca Breslow, a sports medicine doctor and an instructor in orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School, says many of the active older women and the female athletes she sees in her practice have knee pain. While there are numerous pain-inducing knee conditions, three seem to be the most common culprits in older women:

• patellofemoral pain

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Front Knee Pain Symptoms

Front knee pain or anterior knee pain is a dull and aching pain, which is mostly felt:

• Behind the kneecap
• On the sides of the kneecap

One other common symptom is grinding or grating feeling at times when the knee is relaxed

The above mentioned anterior knee pain might be a more noticeable while:

• Going downstairs
• Standing up after sitting for awhile

Tips For Treating Pfj Pain

• reduce activity that flares tour pain, i.e., running

• ice the knee regularly to reduce inflammation

• Volarol gel applied to the front of the knee can help. Sometimes anti-inflammatory tablets such as ibuprofen are needed

• a knee brace with a hole in the middle may lower pain during some activities such as gym or running

• occasionally, we perform injections to reduce pain, particularly if you have degeneration in the joint

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Treatment Of Pain At The Front Of The Knee

Whether or not you need further treatment for your knee pain and what treatment you have, will depend on whats causing the pain. Most conditions causing pain at the front of the knee can be treated with painkillers and physiotherapy. Surgery is usually only needed if other treatments havent worked.

For information on treatments, please see the relevant knee condition page.

• How do I know if my knee pain is serious?How do I know if my knee pain is serious?

  Your doctor will be able to assess how serious your knee pain is by asking you questions and examining your knee. If necessary, theyll carry out some scans too. You should see a doctor if your symptoms are severe or dont start to improve within a few weeks. For more information on this, see our section on symptoms above.

How Is Knee Pain In Teens Diagnosed

Your healthcare provider will ask about your teens knee pain:

• Is there a known cause for the knee pain does it happen with certain movements or is there no specific known event?
• How long has the pain been present?
• Where on or around your knee do you feel pain?
• Does the pain wake you up at night?

Your provider will perform a physical exam, checking:

• Kneecap and knee stability.
• Alignment of lower leg, kneecap and thigh.
• Range of motion of hips and knees.
• Thigh muscle strength, flexibility, firmness.

Your provider may order imaging tests including X-rays or a CT scan or MRI .

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Reducing The Load There Are Also Other Important Ways To Reduce The Strain On Your Knees

Pace yourself

If you are in pain dont tackle all your activities of daily living, such as housework, at once. Break the harder jobs down into smaller time frames and do something gentler in between. Sometimes a short rest when your knee starts to feel painful can be helpful over the course of a day. It is recommended to pace rather than to fully stop all forms of movement or exercise. You may find that taking simple painkillers as previously mentioned may help you to keep active.

High heels

Avoid high heels. This will alter the position of your leg and it can increase the strain into your knee and big toe.

Handrail

When climbing stairs you may need to consider using handrails and go up one leg at time until your muscles become stronger. It is better to go upstairs leading with the non-painful leg one step at a time. If coming down the stairs then lead with the sore leg one step at a time and use the handrail.

Heat/Ice