Knee pain at the front
Knee pain, which is mainly anterior, can be caused by direct damage to the anterior parts of the knee, as well as by conduction when other structures are affected. Possible causes for the development of pain in the front of the knee can be found in the area of the kneecap. A typical clinical picture that leads to pain in the front of the knee in affected patients is the so-called kneecap arthrosis (retropatellar arthrosis).
In this disease, the symptoms are perceived immediately as pain behind the kneecap. In this case, the symptoms are triggered by damage to the cartilage, which leads to friction between the individual parts of the joint. Patellar arthrosis is not uncommon.
In persons aged about 50 years, it often occurs in connection with general knee arthrosis. Younger patients, on the other hand, often develop this type of cartilage damage due to injuries or congenital cartilage weakness. In this disease, the pain at the front of the knee is perceived as sharp and bright and increases in intensity after exertion.
Above all, descending stairs or going downhill is perceived by the affected patients as particularly painful. A further cause of pain at the front of the knee is the so-called jumper knee (patellar tip syndrome). In this disease, the site of the greatest pain is located directly at the lower end of the kneecap.
The reason for the occurrence of the patellar tip syndrome is inflammatory processes and/or overloading of the patellar tendon. The pain at the front of the knee does not occur suddenly but rather insidiously in patients suffering from patellar tendon syndrome. In addition, the so-called Pes anserinus tendinosis, an inflammatory disease of the tendon attachments of various thigh muscles, can lead to pain in the front of the knee.
In many patients suffering from pain in the front of the knee, an inflammation of the bursa (bursitis praepatellaris, bursitis infrapatellaris) can also be detected. In these cases, the greatest pain is felt directly above the kneecap or in the course of the kneecap. In addition, the symptoms caused by the inflammatory processes show a sharp, stabbing pain character and are accompanied by swelling and/or overheating of the affected knee.
As a rule, bursitis is not caused by bacterial pathogens but by permanent irritation. The diagnosis of pain in the front of the knee is mainly based on the symptoms described by the affected patient. These complaints should be described as precisely as possible during an extensive doctor-patient consultation (anamnesis).
In addition, the examination of the knee joint in a side-by-side comparison can provide important information about the underlying disease. Further diagnosis of pain in the front of the knee is carried out using various imaging techniques (e.g. X-ray or magnetic resonance imaging of the knee). The most suitable treatment method can only be determined after successful diagnosis. However, affected patients should make sure that the painful knee is immobilized as much as possible.
