Knee pain is one of the common ailments in Germany and is a clear warning signal from the body. Affected by it are up to 10 percent of the population. Since the causes of knee pain can be quite diverse, a medical examination is necessary. Knee pain can be cured quite well if it is treated in time. Knee pain should be distinguished from general joint pain.
What is knee pain?
Since the causes of knee pain can be quite different, a medical examination is necessary. Knee pain can be cured quite well if treated in time. Knee pain can also help prevent serious secondary damage to the knee if treated in time. Meniscus damage due to small tears or damage to the cartilage are usually painless and can cause more serious damage to the knee. They are often not noticed early due to lack of pain. In this respect, knee pain is a helpful warning signal from the body. Knee pain usually points to three basic causes. One is traumatic injury, such as from accidents, and the other is knee osteoarthritis, which can be the cause of knee pain. It is also not uncommon for obesity to cause severe knee pain. In connection with knee pain, there may be cartilage damage and meniscus damage, cruciate ligament injury and leg deformity, bursitis. In the diagnosis by the specialist, this can be clarified. Patients with knee pain should respond immediately to the warning signal knee pain in any case.
Causes
The causes of knee pain can lie in quite different processes. Thus, cartilage damage or meniscus damage, injuries to the cruciate ligament can be as causative as leg malpositions or bursitis. However, there is always only the injury or the arthrosis as a basic diagnosis in the clarification of the cause of knee pain. Imaging diagnostic methods such as ultrasound and digital X-ray diagnosis or the CT, diagnosis by MRI or skeletal scintigraphy and a 3D measurement of the spine are ways to identify the causes of knee pain. Surface measurements of muscles or bone density and laboratory diagnostics may also be considered. When determining the cause of knee pain, the treating physician will decide the examination method.
Diseases with this symptom
- Osteoarthritis
- Patellar tendon rupture
- Patellar luxation
- Sports injuries
- Meniscus injuries
- Posterior cruciate ligament rupture
- Muscle strain
- Meniscus tear
- Anterior cruciate ligament tear
Course
Knee pain initially takes a rapid course of disease. Those who experience knee pain cannot avoid taking it seriously, as everyday mobility is significantly reduced. If knee pain is not treated, it will quickly lead to evasive movements and incorrect loading that will not improve the knee pain problem. However, many other functions can be affected by this increased stress on the knee. In the long run, all tendons and ligaments in can also be damaged, inflammation can occur and loss of mobility can increase. In the end, only surgery may be able to help. Only with timely medical treatment and diagnosis can the course of the disease be positively influenced. If treatment sets in quickly, there need not be any dramatic progression of the disease.
Complications
Knee pain has different causes that carry different complications. One cause could be an overload of the knee, which often occurs due to intense sports for example running. Complications do not arise if the knee is appropriately spared and treated. However, if the pain is not taken care of, it can develop into osteoarthritis of the knee. Arthrosis is a long-lasting process, it comes to the progedienten wear of the joint cartilage, which can not regenerate again. With the abrasion of cartilage cells, an inflammatory reaction is also caused, which leads to swelling of the knee joint, further pain is added. Often the wear of the cartilage is so severe that the underlying bone becomes involved. This leads to thickening of the bone (subchondral sclerosis) and thus to malalignment of the knee joint.The affected person may have problems with movement and is dependent on a walking aid in later years. A meniscus lesion can also be the cause of knee pain. Complications mainly occur as a result of surgery, but these mainly affect surrounding tissue and infections are rather rare. It is the same with a cruciate ligament tear. Here, post-operative bleeding and infections can also occur. Elevated uric acid levels can also cause gout in the knee. If left untreated, this can also lead to infection and joint and bone damage.
When should you see a doctor?
Knee pain does not always require medical evaluation. Complaints that occur after one-time weight-bearing movements usually do not require a professional examination. Often it is simply a case of overloading the knee. A visit to the doctor is recommended in the case of particularly severe complaints that occur spontaneously or do not go away on their own after a few days. Medical advice is also recommended in the case of intermittent pain or if there is concomitant swelling or dysfunction. The same applies if there is accompanying redness at the affected joint or if the knee is unusually hot. If the knee pain increases rapidly, there may be an underlying disease that needs to be diagnosed first. Knee pain after an accident or a sports injury should be clarified by a doctor immediately. The earlier the treatment, the better the healing process. If a severe meniscus injury or ligament strain is suspected, a visit to the hospital is recommended. Severe knee pain accompanied by bleeding should also be treated as an outpatient. If a severe ligament or joint injury is suspected, medical treatment should be sought as soon as possible. The appropriate contacts are the family physician, orthopedists and rheumatologists.
Treatment and therapy
Knee pain does not always have to go under the knife. There is a whole range of conservative therapy options for knee pain, and acupuncture can also help. Cellular biologic regulatory therapy and shock wave therapy or TENS can be used to treat knee pain. Medical Exercise Therapy and Matrix Regulations Training can also help with knee pain. Knee pain can be treated without and with surgery with many other methods. Physical therapy procedures and also the medical injection procedure, but also chiropractic applications, deep heat and infrared applications, cold and heat therapy, ultrasound or oxygen therapy and occupational or electrotherapy and massages as well as various physiotherapy and physiotherapeutic therapy applications are therapeutic means against knee pain. From sports medicine, kinesio tape application is also a therapy for knee pain.
Outlook and prognosis
Acute and chronic knee pain can be the symptoms of osteoarthritis. It often occurs in old age. The affected patient suffers from wear and tear of the knee joint and walking becomes difficult. For some time, injecting hyaluronic acid into the knee can provide relief. The pain in the knee is reduced, but care must be taken to administer these injections regularly. However, this is not a permanent solution to knee pain. Hyaluronic acid administration helps the patient to be able to move around as much as possible for a certain period of time. Nevertheless, long walks are not recommended for these patients. However, regular gentle exercise is important such as swimming. Swimming does not put as much stress on the knee joint because most of the body weight is supported by the water. If the knee pain is not treated, there is a continuous worsening of the pain and the condition of the knee. The patient becomes more and more limited in walking. In most cases, therefore, the knee joint is surgically replaced with an artificial joint. This is followed by physiotherapy to allow the patient to get used to the new knee joint. After such an operation, regular exercise such as walking is important, although sports such as jogging should not be practiced.
Prevention
Preventive help against knee pain to maintain the ideal weight and sufficient exercise and a healthy and balanced diet.When joints are affected, as is the case with knee pain, there is usually a long lead time in addition to acute traumatic injuries. Those who do not move enough, sit down all the time and eat poorly will notice the weakening muscle corset more and more over time, so that the joints are affected. The joints of the body, including the knee, are designed for movement. Those who permanently stress them with an unhealthy lifestyle will notice knee pain as a possible symptom. In this respect, the best prevention for knee pain is an active and healthy lifestyle.
Aftercare
Knee pain often requires consistent follow-up care. This is related, among other things, to the cause of the knee pain and is ideally discussed in advance with the family doctor, orthopedist or physiotherapist. This often involves two things: First, the knee must be optimally spared following treatment in order to ensure the best possible regeneration. On the other hand, it is a matter of stabilizing the knee by dosed strengthening of the muscles surrounding the joint and in this way making it function properly again. Rehab sports instructors and fitness trainers with appropriate training are also the right people to contact for this form of aftercare. The knee joint is often protected after an injury or even an operation with the help of a bandage, which is to be worn as part of the aftercare completely in accordance with the instructions of the treating doctors and therapists. When it comes to loading the knee, it is especially important to avoid twisting and shearing forces as much as possible. When it comes to strengthening, there are four parts to consider. In addition to the muscles of the front and back of the thigh, the lateral strands should not be neglected. The better the adductors and abductors are strengthened, the less likely it is that the joint will move sideways and the inner or outer ligaments will be overloaded. Stretching exercises should also not be neglected in the aftercare of knee pain.
This is what you can do yourself
If knee pain occurs during sports or after an accident, the training should be stopped immediately and the knee should be cooled. If there is swelling, it helps at first to elevate the knee and rest it as much as possible. Severe pain can be treated with an analgesic ointment. Support bandages and insoles help against difficulties when walking. Those affected can follow the PECH rule: Rest, ice, compression, elevation. Inflammation and irritation can be reduced with the help of enzyme tablets or home remedies (pineapple, apple cider vinegar, cottage cheese, and others). Pain is best relieved with the help of natural pain relievers such as chili. Later, discomfort can be further reduced by regular physiotherapy. After a few days of rest, the knee pain should go away on its own, but conservative treatment is not always enough. If the discomfort persists or there are complications such as severe swelling or muscle dysfunction, it is imperative to see a doctor. This is especially true if the complaints recur. To prevent knee pain, stretching and stabilization exercises can be included in the training plan. Overweight people should reduce their weight concomitantly with treatment to relieve the knee.
