Introduction
Knee Pain is a frequent symptom in all age groups. It may start abruptly or often start after some injury or heavy exercise. If you are overweight, it might put you at a greater risk of suffering from Knee Pain.
Overuse and extreme training can also lead to knee pain. Mainly in the initial stage, the pain is very mild, but it gets worse with time if not treated on time. Hence, every doctor suggests not to neglect the pain right from the start so that proper treatment can be given and the symptoms do not worsen.
Thanks to the advancement in the medical sciences and technologies, now surgeries like knee replacement surgery are possible and very helpful in treating risky Knee medical conditions like Bone dislocation or any deformities. Not every condition requires surgery. Mostly, knee pain is treatable with regular medicines and exercise.
Reasons for Knee Pain
There can be various reasons for Knee pain, such as:
- Any injury
- Ruptured ligaments or torn cartilage
- There can be some medical conditions as well like:
- Bursitis
- Dislocated Kneecap
- IT (iliotibial) band syndrome
- Meniscus tear
- Osgood-Schlatter disease
- Osteoarthritis
- Patellar tendinitis
- Patellofemoral Pain syndrome
Medical Conditions Due To Knee Pain
- Runners Knee Pain – First of all, let us clarify that it is not only for runners. It is a medical term describing a condition where you may have more than one reason for Knee Pain. It is known as patellofemoral pain syndrome. It can be due to stressing your knees too much, either due to exercise or other work.
- Meniscus Tear- As the name suggests, this medical condition of knee pain can be pretty painful. It is one of the most commonly seen knee injuries. The situation in depth is when a piece of the knee cartilage is shredded or breaks, causing painful and locked up knee movement. It is seen frequently in sports players like football, jumping sports, etc.
- Knee Osteoarthritis– Older people are more prone to this medical condition, but even younger ones can sometimes suffer. In some cases, it might be hereditary as well. It can happen due to some injury, being overweight or some infection as well. Also known as wear and tear arthritis. In this condition, the cartilage between the bones near the knees wears away. This leads to closer rubbing of the bones against each other and with less cartilage leading to a painful condition.
What causes Knee Pain?
Knee pain can be a resultant for many cases such as:
- The injuries affecting any of the ligaments
- Tendons or bursa surrounding the knee joints.
- Injuries can hurt the tendons and the ligaments protecting the bones and allowing smooth movement between them.
- The complex design of the knee joint bones and the unavoidable fact that it is the bone that holds most of the weight of our body makes it too prone to frequent pains and problems.
Actions
If you or either any of your family are facing the below-mentioned problems, then they need to visit a doctor immediately:
- If the knee or leg bones are getting deformed
- If the person cannot stand by putting complete weight on the Leg
- If the pain is getting very extreme
- If there is even a minor swelling, numbing or tingling near the knees
Prevention
There are many things one can do to prevent problems like Knee Pain, whether due to some injury or even some medical situation. Given below are a few of the preventive measures to keep in mind:
- Do regular exercise
- If you feel some unusual pain take proper measures and visit the doctor if the pain persists
- Follow the rule “RICE”, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation
- Take care of your weight. Knee problems are usually caused by excess weight/
- Do not overlook any discomfort caused due to shoes or any other footwear. The discomfort could be from tight shoes or too rugged shoe soles.
Treatment
Not all knee pain conditions need surgery and severe medical treatment. Some requirements can be treated by taking proper precautions and following an active routine. For other complicated situations, we are blessed to have surgeries like knee replacement surgery, also known as knee arthroplasty.
The surgery helps with knee pain and get back to its normal functioning. The surgery includes cutting and removing the damaged portion from the thigh bone, shinbone and Knee cap.
Further, their portions are replaced with artificial bone joints. These artificial bone joints are made up of metal alloys or some high-quality plastics and polymers.
Do not worry; no doctor directly prescribes the surgery. All of them will first check your Knee’s range of stability, motion and strength. One may suggest an X-ray to determine the correct situation and the level of damage. After all the tests and checkups, the doctor decides whether you need surgery or not.
Conclusion
You do not need to panic if you are suffering from knee pain. Visit a doctor, and they will diagnose what exactly it is. Some knee pains are from a past or near-past injury. Some are because of medical conditions, which can lead to increasing pain with time if left untreated. If you suffer from a knee injury, take it seriously and take proper treatment as it can lead to similar kinds of injuries in the future.
