People of all ages and different lifestyles may complain of knee joint pain when walking, although this symptom is more common in the elderly and professional athletes. Causes of knee joint pain include both minor injuries and serious illnesses. When moving, healthy people, as a rule, do not experience painful sensations; their appearance can be caused by daily wear and tear on the joints, overexertion, 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 joint (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 tendons of the knee (periarthritis of the bursa in "crow's feet").
Pain in the knee joint with gonarthrosis.
From 30 to 40% of the cases of pain in the knee joint is explained by gonarthrosis. Osteoarthritis of the knee joint is most often diagnosed in people over the age of 40 to 45. The pathological process can develop in one or both of the knee joints. At first, the intensity of pain is mild, the onset of discomfort is observed only after a long walk. As the disease progresses, severe pain is noted in the knee joint, which bothers the person when walking, even for short distances.
It is difficult for the patient to get up from the chair, rise from the hips, go down and up the stairs. A knee pain does not bother you at rest, at night, except in cases of excessive load on the knee the day before.
In the next stages of gonarthrosis, the pain is supplemented by a cracking in the knee (when walking) and the deformation of the joint. This symptomatology becomes more and more pronounced every year.
Pain in the knee joint with meniscopathy.
Meniscopathy (damage to the menisci), along with knee osteoarthritis, is also a common cause of knee pain (up to 40% of cases).
The menisci of the knee can be damaged at any age and it is equally common in both women and men. Damage to one knee joint is predominantly seen.
Meniscopathy can be attributed to injury, but it can often occur in a seemingly level location. A characteristic feature of knee meniscus injury, in contrast to knee osteoarthritis, is a rapid and often quite unexpected development, which is provoked by a failed movement when running, walking, jumping, skiing, etc.
The injury is accompanied by a crunch in the knee, a sensation of sharp pain in the knee joint, the intensity of which is so high that the victim cannot move. After a slight weakening of the acute pain, which usually occurs after 10 to 15 minutes, the patient's ability to move is restored. However, the next day or in a day, the pain syndrome intensifies again, the knee swells a lot. At this stage, the clinical picture of meniscopathy is complemented by the hallmark of a pinched meniscus: a perforation in the knee when walking, a "hammering nail" sensation in the knee, or a possible fracture of the knee when walking.
The duration of the acute period of the disease is, as a rule, two to three weeks, after which the patient is relieved. In the absence of adequate therapy, the disease becomes chronic. Painful sensations diminish, then any circumstance (heavy loads, squats, sudden unsuccessful movements) cause their recurrence.
Meniscopathy, unlike gonarthrosis, is rarely accompanied by deformation of the bones of the knee joint, which can only occur with the development of osteoarthritis of the knee associated with damage to the meniscus.
Knee pain with arthritis
Knee pain in 5-10% of cases is associated with arthritis. This disease is characteristic of people of any age, but most often it begins to develop in youth. 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 arthrosis and meniscopathy, but also by one of the types of arthritis, which is rheumatoid, reactive, psoriatic. Also, diseases such as gout, ankylosing spondylitis, and joint rheumatism are also called arthritis.
Arthric inflammation of the knee joint is characterized by a rapid onset (within 1-3 days), which is accompanied by obvious swelling and swelling of the knee, as well as increased pain in the affected joint at night. The severity of pain in arthritis can be stronger at rest than during movement, distinguishing 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 relieve inflammation.
Pain in the knee joint with coxarthrosis.
Coxarthrosis (osteoarthritis of the hip joint) affects 3 to 7% of people who visit a doctor for pain in the knee joint. The disease is manifested in the fact that, despite the preservation of the mobility of the knee, the absence of difficulties with its painless flexion and extension, it is difficult for a patient with coxarthrosis to extend the legs to the sides, rotate the legs "from the hip. "
Pain in the knee joint with poor circulation.
Vascular knee pain associated with circulation problems accounts for 5-10% of doctor visits for knee problems.
Impaired blood circulation in the knee joints, accompanied by pain, is familiar to many. As a general rule, these uncomfortable sensations first appear in adolescence, since the rate of vascular development during the period of active growth of a child is sometimes much lower than the rate of bone growth.
In the event that vascular pain occurs once, you must be prepared for it to appear throughout your life. However, the degree of its intensity usually decreases after 19 to 20 years.
Pain in vascular disorders is usually symmetrical, that is, its expression in the left and right knees is the same. The appearance of pain syndrome is associated with a change in weather, a change in air temperature, colds, and physical exertion. For the treatment of such pains, hot ointments, massages, self-massage (vigorous rubbing of the knees), as well as vasodilator drugs are used. No special treatment is required for these conditions.
Knee pain due to inflammation of the knee tendons.
About 10-15% of knee pain is associated with inflammation of the knee tendons (crow's feet periarthritis). Most often, this pathology occurs in the female half, mainly after 40 years. Pain syndrome occurs when walking down stairs and when carrying weights. Walking calmly on a flat surface with inflammation of the knee joints is rarely accompanied by the appearance of pain.
The pain caused by periarthritis does not extend to the entire knee, but is localized only to the inner surfaces of the knees, 3-5 cm below the point of contact of the knees when they come together. "Goose bag" periarthritis, unlike arthritis, osteoarthritis, and meniscopathy, is not associated with limited mobility of the knee joint. The flexion and extension of the knee is not disturbed, there is no deformity and swelling of the knee.
Knee pain
The main goals of the treatment of pain in the knee joint, which are set by the doctors of the therapy clinic, are as follows:
- remove puffiness;
- relieve the patient of uncomfortable sensations;
- restore the function of the knee joint;
- prevent further attacks.
To relieve pain, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relievers are used. The use of warming and distracting ointments as well as fortifying medications is effective.
In the remission stage, patients are prescribed the use of physiotherapeutic techniques, massages, and therapeutic exercises.
In the absence of efficacy of conservative therapy, experts, taking into account all the pros and cons, are considering the expediency of surgical treatment.
In addition, there are a number of traditional drugs that help reduce pain, but their use should first be discussed with specialists who 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 and highly qualified doctor who is familiar with the results of the patient's research, the individual characteristics of her body, and many other important nuances.