People of all ages and different lifestyles can complain of knee pain when walking, although most often this symptom occurs in the elderly and professional athletes. Causes of knee pain include both minor injuries and serious illness. When moving, healthy people usually 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 discomfort and impaired mobility can be felt during sports activities, recreation, household chores or work tasks.
Knee pain: causes
Knee pain can occur if you have the following conditions:
- arthrosis of the knee joint (gonarthrosis);
- meniscus damage (meniscopathy);
- arthritis (inflammation of the joints);
- arthrosis of the hip joint (coxarthrosis);
- circulatory disorders of the knee joint;
- inflammation of the tendons of the knee (periarthritis of the duck leg bag).
Knee pain with gonarthrosis
30 to 40% of cases of knee pain are due to gonarthrosis. Osteoarthritis of the knee joint is most often diagnosed in people over 40-45 years. The pathological process can develop in one or both knee joints. At first, the intensity of the pain is mild, the appearance of discomfort is observed only after a long walk. As the disease progresses, there is severe pain in the knee joint, which bothers a person when walking, even for short distances.
It becomes difficult for the patient to get up from the chair, stand up from the front, get down and climb the stairs. An inflamed knee does not bother him at rest, at night, except in cases of excessive strain on the knee the day before.
In the next stages of gonarthrosis, the pain is complemented by crunch in the knee (while walking) and deformity of the joints. This symptomatology becomes more pronounced every year.
Knee pain with meniscopathy
Meniscopathy (damage to the menisci), along with gonarthrosis, 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 are equally common in both women and men. There is mainly damage to one knee joint.
Meniscopathy can be attributed to injuries, but can often occur on an apparent level. A characteristic feature of the injury of the meniscus of the knee, in contrast to gonarthrosis, is rapid and often quite unexpected development, which is provoked by unsuccessful movement when running, walking, jumping, skiing, etc.
The injury was accompanied by a crunch in the knee, a feeling of sharp pain in the knee joint, the intensity of which was so high that the victim could not move. After a slight weakening of the acute pain, which usually occurs after 10-15 minutes, the patient's ability to move is restored. However, the next day or the next day, the pain syndrome worsens again, the knee swells a lot. At this stage, the clinical picture of meniscopathy is complemented by the characteristic feature of the pinched meniscus - a puncture in the knee when walking, a feeling of "stuck nail" in the knee or a possible fracture of the knee when walking.
The duration of the acute period of the disease is usually two to three weeks, after which the patient is relieved. In the absence of appropriate therapy, the disease becomes chronic. Painful sensations subside, then any circumstances (heavy loads, squats, unsuccessful sudden movements) provoke their recurrence.
Meniscopathy, unlike gonarthrosis, is extremely rarely accompanied by deformation of the bones of the knee joint, which can occur only 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 all ages, but most often 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. In addition, diseases such as gout, ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis are also called arthritis.
Arthritic inflammation of the knee joint is characterized by a rapid onset (in 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 arthritis pain may be stronger at rest than during exercise, which distinguishes the disease from osteoarthritis and meniscopathy, which have a similar symptom - knee pain. Treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis can reduce pain, relieve inflammation.
Knee pain with coxarthrosis
Coxarthrosis (arthrosis of the hip joint) affects 3 to 7% of people who visit a doctor for knee pain. The disease is manifested in the fact that despite the preservation of the mobility of the knee, the absence of difficulties with its painless bending and unfolding, for a patient with coxarthrosis it is difficult to spread his legs to the side, to rotate his legs "from the hips. "
Pain in the knee joint with poor circulation
Vascular pain in the knee associated with impaired circulation accounts for 5 to 10% of physician visits for knee problems.
Deterioration of blood circulation in the knee joints, accompanied by pain, is known to many. As a rule, these discomforts appear for the first time in adolescence, as the rate of vascular development during the period of active growth of the child is sometimes much lower than the rate of bone growth.
In the event that vascular pain occurs once, you need to be prepared that it will occur throughout your life. However, the degree of their intensity usually decreases after 19-20 years.
The pain in vascular disorders is usually symmetrical, ie their expression in the left and right knee is the same. The onset of pain syndrome is associated with changes in weather, changes in air temperature, colds and exercise. Warming ointments, massages, self-massage (vigorous rubbing of the knees), as well as vasodilators are used to treat such pains. No special treatment is required for these conditions.
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 leg). Most often this pathology occurs in the female half, mainly after 40 years. The pain syndrome occurs when walking up stairs and carrying weights. Calm 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 on the inner surfaces of the knees, 3-5 cm below the point of contact of the knees when collected. Periarthritis of the goose sac, unlike arthritis, osteoarthritis and meniscopathy, is not accompanied by limited mobility of the knee joint. Flexion and extension of the knee are not impaired, there is no deformation and swelling of the knee.
Knee pain
The main goals of the treatment of knee pain, which are set by the doctors of the therapeutic clinic, are as follows:
- elimination of puffiness;
- relieving the patient of discomfort;
- restore the function of the knee joint;
- prevent new attacks.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics are used to relieve pain. The use of warming and dissipating ointments, as well as strengthening drugs is effective.
In the remission stage, patients are prescribed the use of physiotherapy techniques, massages and therapeutic exercises.
In the absence of efficacy of conservative therapy, experts, taking into account all the pros and cons, consider the appropriateness 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 doctor who is familiar with the results of the patient's examinations, the individual characteristics of his body and many other important nuances.