Knees are among the most frequently used joints in daily life. Therefore, it is more prone to damage by injury, injury, or wear than many joints. Knee pain caused by any reason is one of the health problems experienced by many people, although it is more common in elderly individuals.
What is Knee Pain?
It can cause pain in the knee joint, which has a complex structure. Many problems can arise. The most common cause of knee pain is osteoarthritis, and it is quite common in older individuals. In addition, knee pain can occur for many different reasons such as rheumatic diseases, infections, cartilage problems, problems with knee ligaments and meniscus.
Knee pain, which can be felt while walking, climbing stairs, during exercise and sometimes even at rest, may have developed due to adverse movements or activities that may cause injury to the knee joint if it started in the last few days. However, if the pain persists for a long time, decreases from time to time and gets worse from time to time, it is likely to indicate a joint disease. For this reason, knee pain that lasts longer than a week or is accompanied by problems such as swelling and redness should be considered and a physician should be consulted. Experiencing problems such as a feeling of being stuck can generally be defined as knee pain. How and how severe the pain is felt varies according to the health problem causing the pain. In addition to pain and tenderness, swelling and redness can also be observed in the knees, which can be seen in a single knee or affect both knees.
While the most common cause of knee pain, which can affect individuals of all ages, is osteoarthritis, many different factors such as gout, infections and problems related to the structure of the knee joint can also play a role. Problems related to the knee joint or diseases that cause pain in the knee can worsen and cause serious problems that limit movement unless treated. For this reason, especially people with chronic knee pain should apply to health institutions to find out the reason for their pain.
What are the Symptoms of Knee Pain?
Knee pain is pain felt from time to time in daily life. In some cases, self-healing pain may occur due to ordinary situations such as overuse of the joint, strain or trying for the first time movements that have not been done before. However, especially if the pain lasts longer than a week, the likelihood of an underlying joint disease increases.
Knee pain is usually seen as sharp and dull aches that increase during use. In addition, it may be felt as a dull burning in some individuals. Pain may be exacerbated by touching the knee, swelling and color changes such as redness and bruising may also be seen. In particular, in the presence of the following conditions, it is absolutely necessary to consult a physician and undergo an examination:
- If there is a history of falling and trauma,
- If there is swelling and redness in the joint,
- If there is limited range of motion in the joint
- If there is pain that does not go away with rest or gets progressively worse
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What are the Causes of Knee Pain?
Knee pain can be temporary or chronic. Pain caused by injury, accident or strain on the joint is temporary and can heal spontaneously without any treatment if the pain is not severe. Pain that develops due to osteoarthritis or a disease that can cause pain in the joint is permanent and chronic. These can be caused by disorders related to the physical structure of the joint, as well as in the form of knee pain due to different diseases. Some of the conditions that can cause knee pain are as follows:
- Osteoarthritis (Calcification): It is a health problem that develops as joint degeneration, accompanied by pain and inflammation, especially in elderly individuals, in the form of joint destruction.
- Rheumatoid arthritis: It is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease that can cause deformation and bone loss in the joints and causes painful swelling that affects different joints of the body as well as the knees.
- Bursitis: As a result of repetitive joint injuries or knee excessive joint It is inflammation caused by inflammation. and causes exacerbated pain during activities such as walking on a slope, climbing stairs, and climbing.
- Kneecap dislocations: Kneecap dislocations, which usually occur after accidents or traumas, can cause knee pain. Knee pain may occur with rupture. The most frequently torn knee ligaments are anterior cruciate ligaments.
- Bone tumors: Osteosarcoma, the second most common type of bone cancer, usually affects the knee joints and causes chronic pain in this region.
- Cartilage damages: Disorders of the cartilage in the knee joint, which has a softer and more sensitive structure than bone, may cause pain in the knee. Knee pain may be associated with knee pain. Knee pain and joint diseases are frequently seen due to pressure and strain caused by weight. Traumas that can cause knee pain can also occur after sprains, falls and impacts, after posture disorders or technical errors in physical activities, when warm-up movements are not applied before exercise or when the muscles are stretched incorrectly. If such traumas are not treated, they can worsen and cause permanent problems. For this reason, chronic knee pain or pain after an accident should be taken seriously and health institutions should be consulted.
How to Diagnose Knee Pain l Is it placed?
In patients who apply to health institutions with problems such as knee pain, weakness in the knees, swelling, redness, burning and restriction of movement, the patient's medical history is first learned in detail. With the physical examination to be made by the physician, it can be checked whether there is a color change or swelling in the knee, and information about the increase or decrease of the pain can be obtained by pressing on various parts of the joint. Then, problems in the knee joint are investigated, usually by using medical imaging techniques. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is commonly used for this.
During this imaging, bones and joints, cartilage, tendons, muscles and some blood vessels can be examined in detail. In addition, x-ray and computed tomography (CT) applications can also be performed. In addition, blood tests may be used to evaluate some possibilities, such as rheumatoid arthritis or infectious diseases. After all these investigations, problems that may cause pain in the knees are identified and a treatment plan is created for them.How to Treat Knee Pain?
When making a treatment plan for knee pain, the factor causing pain should be determined first. . Whatever the reason is, patients with obesity problems should be directed to a dietitian and reduced to their ideal weight, thereby eliminating the pressure on the joints. Among the treatments applied for the problems that cause pain are;
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation,
- Pharmacological treatment (Medication),
- Injections,
- It includes surgical operations.
Strengthening the muscles around the knee makes an important contribution to the protection and improvement of the joint. Therefore, physical therapy applications and strengthening exercises may be recommended. In some cases, the knee A treatment plan can be initiated by injecting various drugs or fluids into the joint. Especially in the case of arthritis exacerbations, corticosteroid injections that significantly reduce pain, hyaluronic acid injections to increase the fluid that lubricates the joints, or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections that reduce inflammation and promote healing can be preferred.
Some knee joint diseases or injuries may require surgical operations. In this case, the problems in the knee joint can be eliminated or alleviated by surgery. Stem cell therapy (cell concentration application), which has been applied frequently in recent years and has achieved very successful results, is used for the treatment of many diseases that cause knee pain in patients with suitable profiles. In some patients, a healthy knee joint can be obtained by surgically placing partial or full knee prostheses.
Acupuncture applications can also be used to treat the disease by providing biochemical and hormonal balances in many joint diseases, especially in osteoarthritis. Which or which of all these treatment methods should be applied is decided by the physician as a result of detailed research and diagnostic tests.Read: 0