Causes | Knee twisted – Is that dangerous?

Causes

Twisting in the knee joint is most often caused by sports accidents. Sports that require a lot of physical activity with stopping movements and changes of direction carry a particularly high risk. Examples of such sports include soccer, handball, basketball, skiing and martial arts.

Twisting occurs when the athlete falls on his bent or stretched knee and this is forced by the applied force into an unnatural position that does not correspond to his normal range of motion. The ligament structures, the joint capsule as well as the muscles, nerves and blood vessels are overstretched or compressed. Tears and bleeding can occur.

But you can also twist your knee in other situations. For example, when falling from a great height, in traffic accidents or when twisting the knee. If the pain is severe and does not improve, a doctor should be consulted to determine the extent of the injury.

Typical signs of ligament stretching in the knee area are pain when the knee joint is moved, as well as severe swelling and a noticeable loss of strength. In comparison to other injuries of the ligaments, pain due to overstretching of the ligaments usually only becomes apparent under stress. If the knee is kept in a gentle position and immobilized, the pain decreases significantly.

Compared to torn ligaments, overstretching the ligaments also means that standing and walking is still possible in principle, albeit only with severe pain. Even limited movement should still be possible in principle, even if the pain is severe. You can easily find out whether you have a stretched ligament in your knee in our appropriate article Ligament stretching in the knee.

Irritation of the knee capsule can have a variety of causes and can therefore also cause a variety of accompanying symptoms. The usual symptoms of an irritation of the knee joint capsule can be pain, redness and swelling. These are already present at rest, but increase during a load.

Within the knee capsule there are several bursae, two menisci and the cruciate ligaments. Increased stress can initially irritate and eventually inflame all elements within this capsule. Depending on which structure is affected, pain can occur either in the front, back, upper or lower part of the knee.

The menisci are responsible for cushioning the knee joint. Squeezing this joint can be very unpleasant and painful. However, they are not essential for the knee, so mobility in the knee works even without menisci.

The pain of a meniscus bruise usually does not occur at rest, but only under stress. The knee can no longer be stretched without considerable pain. The pain can radiate into the hollow of the knee.

In addition, patients with meniscus contusions often experience an unpleasant sensation in the knee area, but this is not particularly painful. A bruise occurs more frequently in the inner meniscus, i.e. in the inner knee area, than in the outer meniscus. Redness and swelling do not usually occur when the meniscus is bruised alone.You can read here which symptoms occur: Inner meniscus lesion or outer meniscus lesion Everything else on this topic can be found in the article Meniscus contusion or meniscus lesionThe meniscus connects the thigh bone with the shin bone.

It forms a joint surface through which the two bones are in contact. If the meniscus is torn, this can cause severe pain in the knee area. This pain increases especially when the knee is moved.

Depending on whether the inner or the outer meniscus is affected, the pain is more likely to appear laterally on the outside of the knee or inwards. In the case of an inner meniscus tear, the pain is more pronounced when the knee is rotated inwards. In addition, pressure pain in the inner joint space is also evident here.

When the leg is bent, this can be felt slightly between the thigh and lower leg bones. Pain also occurs when squatting and when extending the leg. In the case of an external meniscus tear, the pain manifests itself particularly when the knee is rotated outwards.

Pressure pain within the joint gap is here rather localized in the outer area. In addition, pain in an external torn meniscus can be seen when straightening up from the squatting position. You can read everything about meniscus injuries here: List of contents meniscusThe cruciate ligaments ensure the stability of the knee joint in a healthy condition and are of essential importance during knee movement.

Overstretching the ligaments can lead to pain and swelling in the area of the knee. Nevertheless, overstretching of the ligaments can be distinguished from a rupture of the cruciate ligaments in that the knee joint is still largely stable in the event of overstretching. Both standing and walking is still possible in principle without assistance.

The pain is load-dependent. Externally, it is difficult to recognize a stretching of the cruciate ligament. As a rule, no bruises are visible.

Small swellings may be visible. A torn cruciate ligament often occurs in conjunction with other injuries in the knee area. A frequently combined injury is, for example, The tear of a cruciate ligament is often clearly felt and a cracking sound may have been heard in the knee when it was torn.

After a rupture of the cruciate ligament, strong pain and swelling of the entire knee can quickly occur. Patients also report an unpleasant feeling of displacement within the knee, in addition to limited movement and load capacity. Typical symptoms also include an accumulation of fluid under the kneecap.

This can be diagnosed by the so-called “dancing patella”, a phenomenon in which the kneecap appears to dance on the bruise when the knee is stroked. A bruise in the area of the knee or certain stretching and bending inhibitions can also be indications of a torn cruciate ligament.

• Front cruciate ligament
• Inner sideband
• Inner meniscus

The knee is stabilized by the inner and outer ligaments.

Both of these ligaments can tear, but the probability of an outer ligament tearing is much less likely than an inner ligament tearing. A rupture of the outer ligament occurs only in very rare cases as the sole injury. Torn outer ligaments often also injure other structures in the knee, making it difficult to isolate the symptoms of a torn outer ligament.

However, they are usually associated with pain, swelling and bruising on the outside of the knee. In the case of a torn inner ligament, on the other hand, the accompanying symptoms can be better localized. This often occurs without further knee injury.

The torn inner ligament is associated with severe pain both at rest and under stress. In addition to the pain, swelling usually occurs on the inside of the knee. In addition, a torn inner ligament often injures nearby blood vessels, which can eventually lead to bruising on the inside of the knee.

Both rupture of the inner and outer ligaments cause the knee to feel unstable. Due to the torn ligaments on either the outer or inner side, the thigh bone on the respective side can no longer be connected to the shin bone, which means that the knee can easily bend to the respective side. This phenomenon can be tested by fixing the thigh bone and then bending the lower leg inwards or outwards.

If the lower leg can be bent outwards to an unusual degree, there is a torn inner ligament.If the lower leg can be bent unusually strongly inwards, a rupture of the outer ligament is likely. However, this examination should never be performed lightly and only by medical personnel, as other structures in the knee can also be affected. If there are free joint bodies within the knee joint, there is increased irritation of the joint.

The free joint bodies represent foreign bodies for the knee joint and in extreme cases can also cause inflammatory reactions in the knee. Typical symptoms of such free joint bodies are pain caused by the increased irritation and severe swelling. In addition, the foreign bodies can become acutely trapped, which can eventually lead to a so-called “blocking phenomenon”.

This can lead to very painful and movement-restricting pain within the knee. Patients describe as a typical symptom of free joint bodies that blockages often occur, but they subside a short time later. Typical symptoms of tendonitis of the knee are pain in the area above the kneecap.

Especially when the knee is bent strongly and the knee is rotated internally, the pain can be severe. If the inflammation persists, the pain may increase even under light load or at rest. A frequent accompanying symptom of tendon inflammation is also swelling and redness in the area of the knee, which is usually visible above the kneecap.

You can find everything else under: Inflammation of the tendon in the knee or inflammation of the tendon in the popliteal fossaTypical for a dislocated or luxated kneecap is a sudden, severe pain. In addition, the affected person can usually clearly feel the kneecap slipping out of its normal position. As a result of a dislocated patella, there is complete instability within the knee, making it almost impossible to stand on the affected leg.

Often, as a side effect, the holding apparatus of the patella can also be affected. As a result, even after dislocation of the patella, a new dislocation can quickly occur. If there is water in the knee, this can also be regarded as a form of knee joint effusion.

A typical symptom is a severe swelling, especially in comparison to the other knee, since water in the knee often occurs only on one side. In addition, there is a reddening in the area of the knee and pain, which occurs especially under stress. Further accompanying symptoms are the increasing stiffness of the knee joint and difficulties in bending and stretching the knee. With the help of the so-called examination of the “dancing patella” it can be checked whether fluid has actually accumulated behind the kneecap.