People of all ages and different lifestyles may complain of knee joint pain when walking, although most often this symptom occurs in the elderly and professional athletes. Causes of knee joint pain include minor injuries and serious illness. When you move, healthy people, as a rule, do not experience painful sensations; their appearance can be caused by daily wear and tear of the joints, excessive physical exertion or injuries. In this case, the appearance of restlessness and impaired mobility can be felt during sports, recreational activities, doing homework or homework.
Knee pain: causes
Knee pain can occur if you have the following conditions:
- osteoarthritis of the knee (gonarthrosis);
- meniscus damage (meniscopathy);
- arthritis (inflammation of the joints);
- osteoarthritis of the hip joint (coxarthrosis);
- circulatory disorders of the knee joint;
- inflammation of the knee tendons (periarthritis of the bag "raven legs").
Pain in the knee joint with gonarthrosis
From 30 to 40% of cases of pain in the knee joint are accounted for by gonarthrosis. Osteoarthritis of the knee joint is most often diagnosed in people over 40-45 years old. The pathological process can take place in one or both knee joints. At first, the intensity of the pain is mild, the onset of discomfort is noticed only after a long walk. As the disease progresses, severe pain is noticed in the knee joint, which bothers a person when walking, even for short distances.
It is especially difficult for the patient to get up from the chair, get up from his pieces, go down and climb the stairs. An injured knee does not bother him during rest, at night, except in cases of excessive load on the knee the day before.
In the later stages of gonarthrosis, the pain is complemented by a knee crisis (while walking) and joint deformity. This symptomatology becomes more and more pronounced every year.
Pain in the knee joint with meniscopathy
Meniscopathy (meniscus damage), along with gonarthrosis, is also a common cause of knee pain (up to 40% of cases).
Knee menisci can be damaged at any age, and are equally common in both women and men. Damage to a knee joint is mostly noticed.
Meniscopathy can be attributed to injuries, but can often occur in a seemingly one-level place. A characteristic feature of knee meniscus injury, in contrast to gonarthrosis, is a rapid and often quite sudden development, which is provoked by an unsuccessful movement when running, walking, jumping, skiing, etc.
The injury is accompanied by a crisis in the knee, a sensation of acute pain in the knee joint, the intensity of which is so high that the victim can not move. After a slight attenuation of the 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 imprint of the stuck meniscus - a puncture in the knee when walking, a feeling of a "hammered nail" in the knee, or a possible knee fracture when walking.
The duration of the acute period of the disease is, as a rule, from two to three weeks, after which the patient is released. In the absence of proper therapy, the disease becomes chronic. Painful sensations subside, then any circumstance (heavy loads, collisions, sudden unsuccessful movements) provoke their recurrence.
Meniscopathy, unlike gonarthrosis, is extremely rarely accompanied by deformity of the knee joint bones, which can only occur with the development of knee osteoarthritis accompanied by meniscus damage.
Knee pain with arthritis
Knee pain in 5-10% of cases is associated with arthritis. This disease is characteristic of people of all ages, but more often it begins to develop in youth. The inflammatory process in arthritis can be found in one or both knees.
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, psoriatic. In addition, diseases such as gout, ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis are also referred to as arthritis.
Arthritis of the knee joint is characterized by a rapid onset (in 1-3 days), which is accompanied by swelling and noticeable swelling of the knee, as well as increased pain in the affected joint at night. The severity of pain in arthritis may 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, relieve inflammation.
Pain in the knee joint with coxarthrosis
Coxarthrosis (arthrosis of the hip joint) affects 3 to 7% of people who visit a doctor for knee joint pain. The disease is manifested in the fact that, despite the preservation of knee mobility, the lack of difficulty with bending and its extension without pain, it is difficult for a patient with coxarthrosis to open the legs to the sides, to rotate the legs "from the hips".
Pain in the knee joint with poor circulation
Knee vascular pain associated with impaired circulation accounts for 5 to 10% of doctor visits for knee problems.
Deterioration of blood circulation in the knee joints, accompanied by pain, is known to many. As a rule, these unpleasant sensations appear for the first time in adolescence, as 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 should be prepared for it to appear throughout your life. However, their degree of intensity often decreases after 19-20 years.
Pain in vascular disorders is usually symmetrical, d. m. th. their expression on the left and right knees is the same. The onset of pain syndrome is accompanied by a change in weather, a change in air temperature, colds, and physical exertion. For the treatment of such pain, warming oils, massages, self-massage (strong rubbing of the knees), as well as vasodilating medicines are used. Special treatment for these conditions is not required.
Knee pain due to inflammation of the knee tendons
Approximately 10-15% of knee pain is associated with inflammation of the knee tendons (periarthritis of the crow's feet). Most often, this pathology occurs in the female half, mainly after 40 years. Pain syndrome occurs when you walk up stairs and when you carry weights. Smooth walking on a flat surface with inflammation of the knee joints is extremely 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 join. Goosebumps periarthritis, in contrast to arthritis, osteoarthritis and meniscopathy, is not associated with limited mobility of the knee joints. Bending and elongation of the knee is not disturbed, deformity and swelling of the knee are absent.
Knee pain
The main objectives of the treatment of knee joint pain, which are determined by the doctors of the therapy clinic, are as follows:
- eliminate puffiness;
- relieve the patient from unpleasant sensations;
- restore knee joint function;
- prevent new attacks.
To relieve pain, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics are used. The use of warming and dispersing oils as well as tonics is effective.
In the remission phase, patients are prescribed the use of physiotherapeutic techniques, massages, and therapeutic exercises.
In the absence of efficacy from conservative therapy, experts, taking into account all the pros and cons, are considering the possibility of surgical treatment.
In addition, there are a number of traditional medicines 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, highly qualified physician, who is familiar with the results of the patient's research, the individual characteristics of his body and many other important nuances.