- What is Knee Pain?
Acute or Chronic Pain in the Knee joint.
The joint is made with many structures like bone, cartilage and ligaments. When there is asynchrony of these structures, like damage to the knee cap, the ligaments, and the cartilage. This causes pain.
- Causes of pain?
There are many causes of knee pain and the most common causes are
- Direct injury
- ( Osteoarthritis) Cartilage damage or cartilage degeneration
- Ligament injury
- Bursitis
- Gout
- Other
- Risk factors
Every individual is susceptible, but there are many other factors that influence this – they are the age of more than 40 years; having additional weight; habit of smoking, having a disease like arthritis, or working in an environment that makes you prone to injury to the knee.
- Associated symptoms
If there is any injury, there is swelling around the knee and the movement of the junction becomes restricted, the local temperature is raised; while walking there is jerk and feeling of weakness. You may feel the popping or crunching sound and may not be able to completely bring the leg to a 180-degree position.
- How is it diagnosed?
The diagnosis is made according to the pain location, like the back, the front of the knee side. Your doctor will take a medical history and perform a physical examination. Some investigations will be advised which will include blood investigations, an x-ray, ultrasound, CT Scan, or MRI of the joint. In some cases, a small amount of fluid will be taken from the joint known as joint aspirate, and will be sent for analysis.
- Assess your joint
If you are suffering from any problem related to the joint, have a consultation with the doctor, and discuss your concerns with them. They will guide you through.
The treatment will depend on the cause and may include conservative treatment (like painkillers, anti-inflammatory, or creams that will help alleviate agony). If your problem is severe, then you may be recommended for extensive evaluation and may require surgical intervention along with lifestyle modification and other management strategies (such as exercise and weight reduction).