Knee pain is a common ailment among people of different ages. Causes may vary from sudden injury and lead to severe complexity like arthritis. The knee bones are articulated by the coordination of four bones: femur, fibula, tibia, and patella. The knee consists of four compartments. These compartments comprise Lateral and medial tibiofemoral compartments the superior tibiofibular joint, and patellofemoral compartments. These components are affected severely by recurrent injury, strain, or disease.

Although knee pain is annoying and unpleasant, the upside is that it is typically treatable. To diagnose your knee pain, you must first take a detailed medical history, which includes details about the pain, such as how it feels (e.g. aching, burning, or sharp), its position (e.g. behind or front of the knee), when was it started (e.g., suddenly or gradually), and in case there was any recent trauma; such as a blow to the knee.

Knee pain is treated conservatively through physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, and acupuncture. Interventional pain management, such as joint injection, may be necessary if symptoms persist. Patients with severe knee injuries may require Knee surgery such as knee arthroscopy or knee replacement.

Causes:

The most common causes of knee pain are age-related problems that include aging, unbearable stress or weight on knees, and injury. Generally, knee pain is due to injury or arthritis.

Common causes related to injury:

  • Damage to knees. These include parts like ligaments, tendons, bones, and muscles.
  • Inflammation in the sacs is present in the knee. These sacs aid the knees in movements and performing different activities. This condition is known as bursitis and the fluid-filled sacs are called bursae.

Common causes related to arthritis:

  • Gout
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Septic arthritis

Symptoms:

Symptoms of knee pain vary including pain, stiffness, and swelling. These mild symptoms are often associated with fever. Some obvious signs and symptoms include:

  • Redness, swelling, and stiffness
  • Not able to straighten the knee completely
  • Any apparent deformity in the legs and knees
  • Cannot bear little weight

Treatment:

A physician should prescribe suitable treatment according to the underlying causes. Treatment may vary starting from conservative treatment like physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, and acupuncture to advanced treatment like knee arthroscopy. The advanced treatment may include interventional pain management such as joint injection. In case of severe knee injuries, knee surgery such as knee arthroscopy and knee replacement. Knee replacement surgery, also known as arthroplasty is one of the most common surgeries in the United States. During the surgery, an orthopedic surgeon removes the deteriorated part of the knee and replaces it with an artificial joint made up of metal and plastic.

The following tips and medication can help you avoid knee pain:

  • Avoid overburdening the knees.
  • Use ice packs for 20 minutes after every 2 or 3 hours
  • Massage your knees gently
  • Medicine including pain killers is suitable in such cases.
  • Use braces or medically recommended strips to support your knees.
  • To improve your way of walking, use foot orthotics.

If the above methods are not applicable in your case, then you should go for surgery.

Exercise:

Though exercise may not seem effective in this case, sufficient pieces of evidence support the cooperative role of exercise in relieving pain. Participating in simple exercises religiously can strengthen muscles. Exercise lessens stiffness and swelling thus relieving arthritic pain and knee pain. Following are some simple and effective exercises for knee pain:

  • Heel raise
  • Sit and stand
  • Wall squats
  • Quadriceps stretch

Common Knee injuries:

Walking is a very well-liked and cheap habit for people to keep themselves active. But the following are the few after-effects of running:

  • Running much does not give people enough time to heal.
  • It can create problems with your running styles and biomechanics.
  • Running too often and too fast to distant places, and consistently increasing your distance and speed.
  • Unavailability of sufficient footwear.

Depending on the cause of knee pain, the treatment is different. Therefore, getting a diagnosis and understanding the cause of your symptoms is essential before beginning treatment. In the absence of a diagnosis, seek medical advice before starting any treatment plan.

What are the risk factors for knee pain?

  • Biomechanics: As a joint that is frequently used throughout the day, the knee joint is complex and requires a great deal of energy. An injury or pain caused by any change in the movement of your joint (leg-length difference, change in walking style) can be caused by subtle changes in mobility.
  • Overweight: Stiff knee joints occur due to excess weight. Osteoarthritis of the knee is also more likely to occur with obesity because cartilage breaks down faster.
  • As a result of repetitive motions (jogging, skiing) or work conditions (long periods of kneeling), cartilage can be harmed by overuse and may lead to pain.

Could my knee pain be arthritis?

There are several causes of knee pain, including gradual development over time, sudden onset, or recurrent episodes. No matter what the pattern of pain looks like, arthritis isn’t usually what it is, but sometimes it is. Most people suffer from osteoarthritis. Everyone at any age can develop it, but over-50-year-olds are most at risk.

Sometimes you might feel that your knees are stiff and painful if you have osteoarthritis of the knees. Either knee might be affected. After a long day on your knee, you might feel that it hurts more after you rest. You might be stiff in the morning, but it shouldn’t last longer than 30 minutes.

It may be possible to feel pain in a particular place, such as the front or side of your knee, or all around the knee. The pain may increase after walking or climbing stairs, for example.

Knee Replacement Surgery

It’s hard for you to move like you used to. Simply getting out of a chair causes pain, as does walking the dog! Physical therapy, injections, and medications are all you’ve tried. It seems that nothing is working. A knee replacement may be a good option in this case. The United States has a high rate of knee replacement surgery, also known as arthroplasty. A severe case of arthritis can be eased with it. You may be able to move more freely as well. Over 600,000 knee replacement surgeries are performed in the United States every year, with many done using robotics. A plastic and metal artificial joint is used to replace the damaged part of the knee during surgery. Acrylic cement is then used to attach the artificial joint to the shin, thigh bone, and kneecap.

When to see a doctor?

An evaluation by a doctor should be performed if the pain does not disappear after resting for a few days. Further, swelling, difficulty bending, deformity, discomfort while walking, significant pain, and fever are symptoms in the knee that a doctor should evaluate. Our knee pain doctor in NJ can help you out with professional treatment.