People of all ages and different lifestyles will complain of knee pain when walking, although this symptom most commonly occurs in the elderly and professional athletes. The causes of knee pain include minor injuries and serious illnesses. When exercising, healthy people usually do not feel pain; their appearance may be due to daily wear and tear of joints, excessive physical exertion or injury. In this case, you will feel discomfort and inconvenience during sports activities, entertainment, housework or work tasks.
Knee pain: the cause
If you have the following conditions, knee pain may occur:
- Knee arthropathy (knee arthropathy);
- Meniscus injury (meniscus disease);
- Arthritis (inflammation of the joints);
- Hip arthropathy (hip arthropathy);
- Circulatory disorders in the knee joint;
- Inflammation of the knee tendon (periarthritis of the "crow's feet" pocket).
Knee joint pain with knee joint disease
Knee joint pain is caused by 30% to 40% of cases of knee joint pain. Arthropathy of the knee joint is most commonly diagnosed in people over 40-45 years of age. The pathological process can develop in one or both knee joints. At first, the intensity of the pain was mild, and discomfort only appeared after a long walk. As the disease progresses, severe pain in the knee joint will occur, and even short-distance walking can be troublesome.
It becomes difficult for the patient to get up from the chair, get up from the buttocks, and climb the stairs. Sore knees at rest at night will not bother him unless the knee is overloaded the day before.
In the next stage of knee arthropathy, the tightness and joint deformation of the knee joint (while walking) will supplement the pain. This symptom becomes more and more obvious every year.
Knee joint pain with meniscus disease
Meniscus disease (meniscus injury) and knee arthropathy are also common causes of knee pain (up to 40% of cases).
The meniscus of the knee can be damaged at any age and is equally common in women and men. A knee joint injury was mainly observed.
Meniscus disease can be attributed to injury, but it often occurs in seemingly flat places. Compared with knee joint disease, a feature of knee meniscus injury is rapid and often unexpected development, which is caused by unsuccessful sports such as running, walking, jumping, and skiing.
The injury is accompanied by the tightening of the knee, the intense pain of the knee joint, whose intensity is so high that the victim cannot move. Acute pain usually diminishes slightly after 10-15 minutes, and the patient's mobility is restored. However, the next day or later, the pain syndrome worsened again, and the knee swelled a lot. At this stage, the clinical manifestations of meniscus disease are complementary to the characteristics of meniscus compression-the knee punctures when walking, the knee feels "nail", or the knee may fracture when walking.
The acute phase of the disease usually lasts two to three weeks, after which the patient resolves. Without proper treatment, the disease will become chronic. The painful sensation subsides, and then any situation (strong load, squat, unsuccessful sudden movement) will cause them to recur.
Unlike knee arthropathy, meniscus is rarely accompanied by bone deformation of the knee joint, which can only occur with the development of knee arthropathy associated with meniscus injury.
Knee pain caused by arthritis
5-10% of knee joint pain is related to arthritis. This disease is characteristic of people of any age, but it most commonly begins to develop in youth. The inflammatory process of arthritis can be found in one or both knees.
The failure of the knee joint can be caused not only by arthropathy and meniscus disease, but also by one of the arthritis, namely rheumatoid, reactive, and psoriasis. In addition, diseases such as gout, ankylosing spondylitis, and joint rheumatism are also collectively referred to as arthritis.
Knee joint inflammation is characterized by rapid onset (1-3 days), accompanied by obvious knee swelling, and increased pain in the affected joints at night. The severity of the pain of arthritis may be more severe during rest than during exercise, which distinguishes this disease from arthropathy and meniscus disease, which have similar symptoms-knee pain. Treating arthritis with anti-inflammatory drugs can reduce pain and inflammation.
Knee pain with hip joint disease
3% to 7% of people who go to the doctor for knee pain will develop hip joint disease (hip joint disease). This disease is manifested in the fact that although the mobility of the knee joint is preserved and there is no difficulty in flexion and extension without pain, it is difficult for patients with hip joint disease to extend their legs to both sides and lift their legs from the "buttock. "
Knee joint pain, poor blood circulation
Knee vascular pain associated with circulatory disorders accounts for 5% to 10% of visits to doctors for knee problems.
Many people are familiar with deteriorating blood circulation and pain in the knee joint. Usually, these uncomfortable feelings first appear in adolescence, because the rate of blood vessel development during the active growth of children is sometimes much lower than the rate of bone growth.
If vascular pain occurs once, you must be prepared, and they will appear in your lifetime. However, their strength usually decreases after 19-20 years.
The pain of vascular disease is usually symmetrical, that is, their expressions on the left and right knees are the same. The occurrence of pain syndrome is related to weather changes, temperature changes, colds and physical exertion. For the treatment of this kind of pain, you can use warm ointments, massage, self-massage (strongly rubbing the knee), and drugs that dilate blood vessels. No special treatment is required for these situations.
Knee pain caused by inflammation of the knee tendon
About 10-15% of knee joint pain is related to knee tendon inflammation (pericrow's feet inflammation). In most cases, this pathology occurs in half of women, mainly after the age of 40. Pain syndrome occurs when walking down stairs and when bearing weights. Walking peacefully on an inflamed flat surface of the knee joint is rarely accompanied by pain.
The pain caused by periarthritis does not extend to the entire knee, but is limited to the inner surface of the knee. When the knees are closed, the knee is 3-5 cm below the contact point. Contrary to arthritis, arthropathy and meniscus disease, arthritis around the "goose bag" is not accompanied by restriction of knee joint mobility. The knee joint is free of flexion and extension, and there is no deformity and swelling of the knee joint.
Knee pain
The main goals of knee pain treatment set by the doctors in the treatment clinic are as follows:
- Eliminate edema;
- Reduce the discomfort of patients;
- Restore knee joint function;
- Prevent new attacks.
To relieve pain, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics are used. It is effective to use warm and distracting ointments and strengthening medicines.
In the remission phase, the patient is asked to use physical therapy techniques, massage, and therapeutic exercises.
In the case of ineffective conservative treatments, experts have considered all the pros and cons and are considering expedient measures for surgical treatment.
In addition, there are many traditional medicines that can help reduce pain, but their use must first be discussed with experts who monitor the course of treatment aimed at eliminating knee pain. How to treat this pathology can only be determined by experienced and highly qualified doctors who are familiar with the patient’s research results, individual characteristics, and many other important nuances.