People of all ages and different lifestyles can complain of knee joint pain while walking, although this symptom is most common in the elderly and professional athletes. The causes of pain in the knee joint include both minor injuries and serious illnesses. Healthy people, as a rule, do not experience painful sensations when moving, their appearance can be caused by daily wear and tear on the joints, excessive physical exertion, or injury. In this case, the appearance of discomfort and reduced mobility can be felt during sports activities, recreation, housework or work tasks.
Knee pain: causes
Knee pain can occur if you have the following conditions:
- Osteoarthritis of the knee (gonarthrosis);
- Damage to the menisci (meniscopathy);
- Arthritis (inflammation of the joints);
- Osteoarthritis of the hip joint (coxarthrosis);
- Circulatory disorders of the knee joint;
- Inflammation of the hamstrings (periarthritis of the "crow's foot sac").
Pain in the knee joint with osteoarthritis of the knee
Gonarthrosis accounts for 30 to 40% of pain in the knee joint. Osteoarthritis 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. Initially, the pain intensity is low, the appearance of discomfort is observed only after a long walk. As the disease progresses, severe pain is noted in the knee joint, which disturbs a person when walking, even for short distances.
It becomes difficult for the patient to get up from the chair, get up from their hips, go down and up the stairs. A sore knee does not bother him at night at rest, except when the knee is excessively stressed the day before.
In the next stages of osteoarthritis of the knee, the pain is supplemented by a crunch in the knee (when walking) and joint deformation. This symptomatology becomes more pronounced every year.
Pain in the knee joint with meniscopathy
Besides gonarthrosis, meniscopathy (damage to the menisci) is also a common cause of knee pain (up to 40% of cases).
Menisci of the knee can be damaged at any age and are equally common in women and men. Damage to a knee joint is predominantly observed.
Meniscopathy can be traced back to injury, but it can often appear in a seemingly flat area. In contrast to osteoarthritis of the knee, a characteristic of knee meniscus injuries is a rapid and often unexpected development caused by unsuccessful movement when running, walking, jumping, skiing, etc.
The injury is accompanied by a crunch in the knee, an acute sensation of pain in the knee joint, the intensity of which is so high that the victim cannot move. After a slight decrease in acute pain, which usually occurs after 10-15 minutes, the patient's ability to move is restored. However, the next day or one day, the pain syndrome intensifies again, the knee swells a lot. At this stage, the clinical picture of meniscopathy is complemented by the characteristic feature of a pinched meniscus - a piercing in the knee when walking, a feeling of a "hammered nail" in the knee or a possible fracture of the knee when walking.
The acute phase of the illness usually lasts two to three weeks, after which the patient is relieved. Without suitable therapy, the disease becomes chronic. Painful sensations subside, then all circumstances (heavy loads, squats, unsuccessful sudden movements) provoke their recurrence.
In contrast to osteoarthritis of the knee, meniscopathy is extremely rarely accompanied by a deformation of the bones of the knee joint, which can only occur with the development of knee osteoarthritis in connection with meniscus damage.
Arthritis knee pain
Knee pain is associated with arthritis in 5-10% of cases. This disease is characteristic of people of any age, but most often it begins to develop in adolescence. The inflammatory process in arthritis can be found in one or both knees.
The defeat of the knee joints can be caused not only by osteoarthritis and meniscopathy, but also by one of the types of arthritis which is rheumatoid, reactive, and psoriatic arthritis. In addition, diseases such as gout, ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis are also referred to as arthritis.
Arthritic inflammation of the knee joint is characterized by a rapid onset (in 1-3 days), which is accompanied by significant swelling and swelling of the knee and increased pain in the affected joint at night. The severity of pain in arthritis can be stronger at rest than during movement, which distinguishes the disease from osteoarthritis and meniscopathy, which have a similar symptom - pain in the knee joint. Treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis can reduce pain and reduce inflammation.
Pain in the knee joint with coxarthrosis
Coxarthrosis (osteoarthritis of the hip joint) affects 3 to 7% of people who see a doctor about pain in the knee joint. The disease manifests itself in the fact that a patient with coxarthrosis, despite the preservation of knee mobility and the lack of difficulty with his painless flexion and extension, has difficulty in spreading his legs to the side, turning his legs "off" the hip. "
Pain in the knee joint with poor blood circulation
Vascular pain in the knee in connection with impaired blood flow make up 5 to 10% of visits to the doctor for knee problems.
The deterioration in blood circulation in the knee joints, accompanied by pain, is known to many. Usually, these unpleasant sensations first appear in adolescence, since the rate of vascular development during a child's active growth is sometimes much slower than that of bone growth.
In the event that vascular pain does occur, you need to be prepared for it to occur throughout your life. However, the degree of their intensity most often decreases after 19-20 years.
Vascular disease pain is usually symmetrical; H. their expression in the left and right knee is the same. The appearance of pain syndrome is associated with a change in the weather, a change in air temperature, colds and physical exertion. To treat such pain, warming ointments, massages, self-massage (vigorous rubbing of the knees), as well as vasodilating drugs are used. Special treatment for these conditions is not required.
Knee pain from inflammation of the hamstrings
About 10-15% of knee pain is associated with inflammation of the hamstrings (crow's foot periarthritis). Most often this pathology occurs in the female half, mainly after 40 years. The pain syndrome occurs when climbing stairs and when carrying weights. Quiet walking on a flat surface with inflammation of the knee joints is extremely rarely accompanied by pain.
The pain caused by periarthritis does not extend to the entire knee, but is localized only on the inner surfaces of the knees, 3-5 cm below the point of contact of the knees when they are brought together. In contrast to arthritis, arthrosis and meniscopathy, periarthritis of the "goose pouch" is not associated with a restriction of the mobility of the knee. The flexion and extension of the knee is not disturbed, and there are no deformities and swellings of the knee.
Knee pain
The main goals of the treatment of pain in the knee joint, which are determined by the doctors of the therapy clinic, are:
- Eliminate puffiness;
- relieve the patient of unpleasant sensations;
- restore the function of the knee joint;
- prevent new attacks.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics are used for pain relief. The use of warming and distracting ointments, as well as tonic drugs, is effective.
At the stage of remission, patients are prescribed physiotherapy techniques, massages and therapeutic exercises.
If conservative therapy is ineffective, experts consider the advisability of surgical treatment after weighing all the advantages and disadvantages.
In addition, there are a number of traditional medicines that help relieve pain, but their use must first be discussed with specialists who will monitor the course of treatment aimed at eliminating pain in the knee joint. How to treat this pathology should be decided only by an experienced, highly qualified doctor who is familiar with the results of the patient's research, the individual characteristics of his body and many other important nuances.