What is Knee Pain?
Knee pain is characterized by pain felt in or around the knee joint. Painful knees can be caused by injuries, arthritis, or multiple other medical conditions that affect the bones, ligaments, and cartilage of the knee joint.
Symptoms
The quality and type of knee pain be variable. It can also be associated with other symptoms as noted below.
- Dull to sharp pain in one or more areas of the knee
- Generalized diffuse pain throughout the knee joint
- Trouble bending or straightening the knee joint
- Grinding noise in the knee
- Inflammation and swelling around the knee
- Difficulty with standing, walking, or sitting in certain positions
Causes and Risks
- Injuries: Falls, or sharp blows to the knee, or overextension of the joint can cause one or more of these issues:
- Fractures: Breaks of the bones comprising the knee join
- Dislocations: These occur when bones in the knee pop out of place.
- Ligament tears: Tears to the ACL, PCL, MCL, LCL holding the joint together are common when the knee twists sharply such as in some sports injuries.
- Bursitis: The bursae are the fluid filled sacs that lubricate the joint, they can get inflamed and become painful.
- Meniscal tears: This is a tear to a specific area of cartilage in the knee.
- Arthritis: Arthritis is a generalized term referring to inflammation in the knee, and it is a very common cause of joint pain. There are multiple types of arthritis that can all cause pain in the knee, including:
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Septic arthritis
- Gout
- Other Medical Conditions: There are many few other medical conditions that can cause painful knees.
- Joint infections
- Knee cancer
- Connective tissue disorders
- Osgood-Schlatter disease
- Iliotibial band syndrome
Treatment and Prevention
Knee pain prevention relies on protecting the knees from injury. This can be accomplished by strengthening the muscles surrounding the knees joint.
Diagnosing the cause of pain starts with a basic physical examination of the knee. Diagnostic tests are also key in identifying the source of the knee pain:
- X-rays
- Ultrasound
- CT and MRI
- Blood tests
- Arthrocentesis, (knee fluid analysis)
Treatment of knee pain can be partially dependent on the severity of the condition. The following are possible options for the treatment of knee pain.
- Physical Therapy
- Weight Loss
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory prescriptions
- Corticosteroid injections
- Joint Replacement Surgery
- Viscosupplementation Gel Injections
- PRP or Stem Cell Therapy
Modern Pain and Spine provides a variety of pain management solutions for various types of arthritis, including osteoarthritis in the knees. We focus on preventive joint care. We use various innovative approaches when treating people with knee arthritis. We tailor our treatment plan based on the individual needs of each patient, the severity of the pain, and several other individual factors.
