Of all the joints in the human body, knee pain is the most common complaint in humans. The knee joint is complex, it carries a large load during various forms of physical activity, therefore there can be many causes for pain in it. Knee pain, even if it occurs occasionally and goes away on its own, should not go unnoticed.
Knee pain, regardless of intensity, significantly impairs quality of life. There is no joy in your favorite type of outdoor activity, efficiency drops, and a simple shopping trip becomes a problem.
In our article we will consider what to do if knee joints hurt, how to treat them and whether it is possible to get rid of discomfort in the knees forever - the last question is especially relevant for older people who are considering sedentarymovements and joint pain syndrome an indispensable companion of age.
Pain diagnosis
- It is necessary to find out the nature of the pain. The pain can be sharp, burning, stinging, excruciating.
- Relieve the circumstances at the beginning of the pain - at night, after exertion, while walking, in the morning, sudden sharp pain.
- Were there other signs of joint damage: swelling, hyperemia (redness), joint deformity, crunching, limitation of mobility.
- Check for a history of infection, stress, bone injury or increased physical activity.
- Undergo an instrumental examination in a medical and preventive institution (LPU) - blood test, X-ray diagnosis, analysis of synovial fluid.
Causes of knee pain
There are more than 200 articular pathologies, most of them accompanied by more than just pain. Only on the basis of a complex of symptoms and studies can you determine what is causing your knees to hurt.
Traumatic pathology
In traumatic pathologies, knee pain occurs with joint injuries (blows, falls, prolonged stress on the joints - typically for athletes) or with general diseases of the body.
Let us consider the main traumatic pathologies.
Knee fracture
Fracture or displacement of the patella, fracture of the femoral condyles and / or tibia. When you fall from a height to your knees, in case of car accidents etc.
The victim experiences a sharp severe pain at the moment of shock, with time the pain does not stop, it may become a little weaker, but intensified by pressing or walking.
The joint swells, becomes deformed, fills with blood (hemarthrosis), the knee does not bend, and the patella becomes abnormally mobile.
Offset knee
It is characterized by the displacement of the bones of the joint relative to each other. Dislocation of the knee joint is of varying complexity (complete, incomplete, complicated by soft tissue rupture, etc. ).
Habitual dislocation occurs as a result of a knee injury or as a result of a congenital anomaly: weakness or excessive elasticity of the ligaments, flat slides of the femur in the joint, too high patella position.
A sprain of the knee joint is a rather serious injury, and if one does not take care of it in time, everything can end in serious complications. Dislocation of the knee joint is the most painful of all types, although it is a rare occurrence.
Serious injuries such as dislocations should be treated in medical institutions, so there should be no independent intervention. That's what traumatologists do.
Sprain, rupture of tendons, ligaments
Depending on the degree of damage (partial rupture of individual fibers, incomplete tearing, complete rupture) symptoms occur: crunching and clicking during movement, bruising under the fracture site, limitation of flexion-elongation of the joint, swelling of the knee, the joint is too mobile. (with complete rupture of the ligaments). The pain is sharp and severe, but with a minor injury it may not occur immediately, but after a while.
Bursitis
Inflammation of the periarticular bursa due to trauma, infections, metabolic disorders, autoimmune disease. Occurs frequently in athletes and people with increased body weight. The knee swells, pain varies in intensity but increases with exertion and at night.
Meniscus tear
May be the result of trauma or degenerative changes in the cartilage tissue. Acute trauma is characterized by severe pain, swelling, and limited mobility. Symptoms of degenerative changes are mild.
Diseases of the joints
Knee pain can be a symptom of a medical condition.
We have listedthe most common diseases with knee pain syndrome:
Arthritis
The diagnosis is much less common than in the 19th and 20th centuries. This is due to both the discovery of penicillin (and then the production of other antibiotics) and the low diagnostic abilities in the past, where almost all joint diseases were attributed to arthritis.
A characteristic sign of arthritis is alternating joint pain: first one joint becomes inflamed, then the other. For example, knee pain subsides but occurs in another large joint (elbow, hip).
Rheumatism is more common in children and adolescents, the disease develops after a streptococcal infection of the upper respiratory tract.
Note: advanced arthritis leads to damage to the heart (rheumatic heart disease) or the nervous system (chorea).
Reactive arthritis
It is more common in people of reproductive age, as inflammation of the joints is most often caused by pathogenic microbes that enter the human body sexually.
Much less commonly, reactive arthritis is caused by infections of the gastrointestinal tract or nasopharyngeal infectious inflammation (sore throat, influenza). After 1-4 weeks after the disease, the patient notices that his legs started to hurt at night.
Both large joints (knees, ankles) and small ones (big toe hurts) can become inflamed and painful. Knee pain is accompanied by swelling and / or redness.
Sometimes symptoms include conjunctivitis (inflammation and pain in the eyes), keratoderma (thickening of the skin on the soles of the feet).
Reiter's syndrome
Urethritis (frequent, painful urination) and bowel diseases join the symptoms of common reactive arthritis.
Osteoarthritis
Disease in the elderly. At regular intervals, the knees ache at night "for the weather. " Stress of the joint (long gait) increases pain, swelling and impairs joint mobility.
After resting and warming up, the pain disappears.
Bakers cyst
Swelling on the back of the knee, causing a feeling of constriction, difficulty moving.
Osteochondritis dissecans (Könings disease)
The cartilage that covers the bone peels off, the sore knee hurts, and when the fragment peels off completely, the movement of the joint is inhibited.
Osgood-Schlatter disease
It is more often diagnosed in adolescents. Knee pain increases when walking up and down stairs, squatting.
Rheumatoid arthritis
An autoimmune disease whose mechanism is not clear. It is noted that the onset conditions are the usual list of strains on the immune system: from stress and infection to hypothermia. The immune bodies that attack their own cells cause inflammation in the joint, especially its synovium.
Under the influence of an attack from immune cells, the membrane swells, increases in volume and then begins to grow into nearby cartilage and bone tissue. The result of the process is pain in the knee joints, which becomes unbearable in the second half of the night.
The disease lasts for years, the treatment consists of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroid hormones, gold preparations, immunosuppressants, antimalarial drugs.
Occurs from incorrect metabolism. Due to alcohol abuse, "purine" products (meat, smoked meat, pickles).
Uric acid produced in the blood is deposited in the joints in the form of sodium urate crystals. The growing "deposits" gradually affect the mobility of the joint, severe pain attacks occur, the time interval between attacks is gradually reduced.
Vascular pain in the knees is characterized by a pulling sensation along the vein, sometimes patients notice an acute tingling sensation.
Only a doctor, after a detailed examination, can tell why the knee hurts if there was no obvious injury. It is unwise to rub the knee joint with a remedy that "has helped a neighbor". After all, anything that helps heal a joint injury can provoke a worsening of the autoimmune mechanism of the disease.
Treatment of knee pain
The doctor chooses a treatment regimen depending on the diagnosis.
Therapeutic measures are aimed at combating:
- with the cause of the disease - infection, tumor, abnormal metabolic processes, failure of the immune system.
- with pain syndrome - symptomatic treatment includes painkillers, intra-articular blockades.
- with degenerative processes - drugs with chondroprotectors help restore the cartilage tissue of the joint.
If necessary, resort to surgery, endoprosthetics, use physiotherapy and therapeutic exercises for the joints.
Pain relief products
Checklist for those with knee pain - what to do to relieve the condition.
| Cause of pain | What to do |
|---|---|
| Pain evidently due to trauma | Give joints and limbs immobility, ice or cold compress on the knee. Immediate medical attention. |
| Pain in arthritis (reactive, rheumatoid, etc. ) | Specific treatment with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory drugs is only prescribed by a doctor. For night pain you can apply a warming compress, ointments based on bee venom. |
| Osteoarthritis pain (post-traumatic, age-related, obese) after exercise or at night | Any heating compresses with herbal tincture, rubbing in ointments with chondroprotectors. |
Severe joint pain is relieved by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
However, most patients (overweight, age-related joint changes) would not have to think about what to do with pain if they adhered to the preventative minimum:
- Proper nutrition with a sufficient amount of calcium, vitamins, the fight against excess weight;
- Reduction of severe strain on the joint up to a work shift if it consists of "standing on your feet" all day;
- Systematic physiotherapy to strengthen muscles and ligaments - a good muscle cross reduces the load on the bones;
Joint diseases can develop over the years and lead to a significant deterioration in quality of life. A timely visit to a doctor and an arsenal of folk medicine will help maintain the joy of movement until old age.
Joint treatment at home - folk recipes
Homemade ointments and compresses based on natural ingredients are used in courses - it is the only way to achieve a lasting result.
7 simple folk remedies for knee pain:
- Cabbage leaves. On a fresh leaf, cut out so that the juice comes out. Put a spoonful of honey in the middle and apply this "compress" on the knee. The layer is attached with a bandage. Wear a bandage all day or do the procedure at night. The leaves of burdock and plantain are used in a similar way.
- Tincture of propolis for arthritis. If the knees "twist" at night (the causes of dull pain can be from weather changes to stress on the legs), lubricate the joint with a mixture, rub it into the skin until it dries. If the knees are very sore, they make a full compress: moisten the soft tissue with tincture and apply it on the joint, cover it with a film and wrap it with a scarf. The tool is also used to warm up the joint if a sore knee has a cold. Likewise, they use tinctures from natural stimulants: aloe, Kalanchoe, mummy, bee death.
Important:biologically active substances can not be used if the disease is of an autoimmune nature. Stimulants activate the immune system and aggravate the disease.
- Gelatin compress. A piece of gauze soaked in warm water is squeezed out, 1 teaspoon is poured in the middle. gelatin, applied to the joint, wrapped with cling film and wrapped. Repeat the procedure for 14 days at night. The product promotes leader nutrition and cartilage regeneration.
- A mustard compress will help if your knee hurts. Take honey and dry mustard in equal amounts, add hot water and salt until a gruel is formed. Lubricate the knee with a mixture, lay with a cloth with a film and bandage. Exposure time 20–40 min. , Remove in case of severe burning sensation. A mustard compress is used for pain every other day.
- In order not to hurt the legs, prepare a drug for oral administration: gelatin is stirred in 0, 5 liters of water in the evening, heated in the morning until completely dissolved. The mixture is taken before meals in ¼ - 1/2 glass, they drink for a month.
- Internal goat fat (100 g) is mixed with "Zvezdochka" balm (1 jar), the resulting ointment is rubbed against venous and joint pain in the knee.
- Kefir mask. 0, 5 l kefir crumble bread, add 1 tsp. soda. The mixture is insisted for 6 hours. Then the liquid is filtered, moistened with gauze and compresses are made overnight for several days until the pain disappears.
It is advisable to use home treatment with folk medicine regularly, combined with traditional medicine and modern methods. Do not wait until the disease has already established itself firmly and declared itself with severe pain, deformation of the joint. An early visit to the doctor will accelerate recovery, while the chronic form of the disease is more difficult to cure.
Note:treatment with folk medicine is only allowed with the approval of a doctor after examination and diagnosis.