Of all the joints in the human body, knee pain is the most common ailment in people. The knee joint is complex, it bears a large load during different types of physical activity, so there can be many reasons for the pain. Knee pain, even if it occurs occasionally and goes away on its own, shouldn't go unnoticed.
Knee pain, whatever the intensity, greatly impairs the 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 the knee joints hurt, how to treat them and whether it is possible to permanently eliminate discomfort in the knees - the last question is especially relevant for older people who consider sedentary movement and joint pain syndrome a indispensable companion of age.
Pain diagnostics
- It is necessary to find out the nature of the pain. The pain can be sharp, burning, stabbing, aching.
- Abolish the circumstances of the onset of pain - at night, after exertion, while walking, in the morning, sudden acute pain.
- There were other signs of joint damage: swelling, hyperemia (redness), joint deformity, crunching, limited range of motion.
- Check for a history of infections, stress, leg injuries, or increased physical activity.
- Undergo an instrumental examination in a medical and preventive institution (LPU) - blood test, X-ray diagnostics, synovial fluid analysis.
Causes of knee pain
There are more than 200 joint pathologies, most of them accompanied by more than just pain. Only on the basis of a complex of symptoms and examinations can you determine what hurts your knees.
Traumatic pathology
In traumatic pathologies, knee pain occurs with joint injuries (blows, falls, prolonged stress on the joints - typical of athletes) or with general diseases of the body.
Let's consider the main traumatic pathologies.
Knee fracture
Patella fracture or displacement, condyle fractures of the femur and / or tibia. When you fall from above on your knees, in case of traffic accidents, etc.
The victim feels a sharp sharp pain at the moment of impact, over time the pain does not stop, it can become slightly weaker, but intensifies by pressing or walking.
The joint swells, deforms, fills with blood (hemarthrosis), the knee does not bend, and the patella becomes abnormally mobile.
Dislocated knee
It is characterized by the displacement of the bones of the joint relative to each other. Dislocation of the knee joint is of various 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 sliding paths of the femur in the joint, excessively high patellar position.
A knee joint dislocation is a pretty serious injury, and if you don't take care of it in time, it can all end in serious complications. Dislocation of the knee joint is the most painful of all types, although it is a rare event.
Serious injuries such as dislocations should be treated in medical institutions, so there should be no independent intervention. This is what traumatologists do.
Sprain, rupture of tendons, ligaments
Depending on the degree of damage (partial rupture of individual fibers, incomplete laceration, complete rupture), symptoms occur: creaking and jerking during movement, bruising under the site of rupture, limitation of flexion-extension of the joint, swelling of the knee, joint too mobile (with complete rupture of ligaments). The pain is sharp and severe, but with a minor injury it may not appear immediately, but after a while.
Bursitis
Inflammation of the periarticular bursa due to trauma, infections, metabolic disorders, autoimmune diseases. It often occurs in athletes and people with increased body weight. The knee swells, the pains vary in intensity, but increase with exertion and at night.
Tear of the meniscus
It can be the result of trauma or degenerative changes in the cartilage tissue. Acute trauma is characterized by intense 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:
Rheumatism
Diagnosis is much less common than in the 19th and 20th centuries. This is due both to the discovery of penicillin (and therefore to the production of other antibiotics), and to poor diagnostic capabilities in the past, when almost all joint diseases were attributed to rheumatism.
A characteristic sign of rheumatism 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 rheumatism 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 joint inflammation is often caused by pathogenic microbes that sexually enter the human body.
Much less often, reactive arthritis is caused by infections of the gastrointestinal tract or infectious nasopharyngeal inflammation (sore throat, flu). After 1-4 weeks after the illness, the patient notices that the legs have started to ache at night.
Both large (knees, ankles) and small (big toe or pain) joints 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 and painful urination) and intestinal disturbances join the symptoms of the common reactive arthritis.
Osteoarthritis
Illness of the elderly. Periodically the knees ache at night "for the time". The load on the joint (long walking) increases pain, swelling and impairs joint mobility.
After rest and warm-up, the pain disappears.
Baker's cyst
Swelling in the back of the knee, causing a feeling of constriction, difficulty moving.
Osteochondritis dissecans (Köning's disease)
The cartilage covering the bone comes off, the sore knee hurts, and when the fragment comes off completely, the movement of the joint is hampered.
Osgood-Schlatter disease
It is most often diagnosed in adolescents. Knee pain increases when walking up and down stairs, squatting.
Rheumatoid arthritis
An autoimmune disease, the mechanism of which is unclear. It is noted that the starting circumstances are the usual list of loads on the immune system: from stress and infections, to hypothermia. Immune bodies attacking their own cells cause inflammation of the joint, particularly its synovium.
Under the influence of an attack by immune cells, the membrane swells, increases in volume, and then begins to grow into the 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, treatment consists of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroid hormones, gold preparations, immunosuppressants, antimalarial drugs.
It arises from an improper metabolism. Due to alcohol abuse, "purine" products (meat, smoked meats, pickles).
Uric acid produced in the blood is deposited in the joints in the form of sodium urate crystals. Growing "deposits" gradually affect the mobility of the joint, severe pain attacks appear, the time interval between attacks is gradually reduced.
Vascular pain in the knees is characterized by a pulling sensation along the vein, patients sometimes notice a sharp 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 "helped a neighbor". After all, what helps heal a joint injury can provoke an exacerbation of the autoimmune mechanism of the disease.
Knee pain treatment
The doctor selects a treatment regimen based 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 blockages.
- with degenerative processes - drugs with chondroprotectors help restore the cartilage tissue of the joint.
If necessary, resort to surgery, endoprosthesis, use physiotherapy and therapeutic exercises for the joints.
Pain relieving products
Checklist for knee pain sufferers: what to do to relieve the condition.
| Cause of pain | What to do |
|---|---|
| Pain clearly resulting from trauma | Provide joint and limb immobility, ice or cold pack on the knee. Immediate medical assistance. |
| Pain in arthritis (reactive, rheumatoid, etc. ) | Specific treatment with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory drugs is prescribed only by a doctor. For night pains, you can apply a warming compress, bee venom ointments. |
| Pain in osteoarthritis (post-traumatic, age-related, overweight people) after exercise or at night | Any warming compresses with herbal tincture, rubbing ointments with chondroprotectors. |
Severe joint pain is relieved by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
But most patients (overweight people, age-related joint changes) would not have to think about what to do with the pain if they observed the slightest preventive:
- Proper nutrition with a sufficient amount of calcium, vitamins, fight against excess weight;
- Reduction of strong stresses on the joint up to a change of job, if it consists in "standing" all day;
- Systematic physical therapy to strengthen muscles and ligaments - a good muscle corset reduces the load on the bones;
Joint diseases can develop over the years and lead to a significant deterioration in the quality of life. A timely visit to a doctor and an arsenal of folk remedies will help keep the joy of movement into old age.
Joint treatment at home - folk recipes
Homemade recipes for ointments and compresses based on natural ingredients are used in the courses - this is the only way to achieve a lasting result.
7 simple folk remedies for knee pain:
- Cabbage leaves. On a fresh leaf, cuts are made so that the juice flows out. Place a spoonful of honey in the center and apply this "compress" on the knee. The sheet is fixed with a bandage. Wear a bandage all day or do the procedure at night. Burdock and plantain leaves are used in a similar way.
- Tincture of propolis for arthritis. If the knees "twist" at night (the causes of dull pain can arise from the change in weather to the stress on the legs), lubricate the joint with a mixture, rubbing it into the skin until it dries. If the knees are very sore, they make a full-fledged compress: moisten the soft tissue with dye and apply it to the joint, cover it with a film and wrap it with a scarf. The tool is also used to warm the joint if a sore knee has cooled down. Similarly, they use tinctures of natural stimulants: aloe, Kalanchoe, mummy, dead bee.
Important:biologically active substances cannot be used if the disease is autoimmune in nature. Stimulants activate the immune system and aggravate the disease.
- Gelatin pack. A piece of gauze soaked in hot water is squeezed out, 1 tsp is poured into the center. gelatin, applied to the joint, wrapped with a sheet of food paper and wrapped. Repeat the procedure for 14 days at night. The product promotes joint nutrition and cartilage regeneration.
- A mustard compress will help you if your knee hurts a lot. Take honey and dry mustard in equal proportions, add warm water and salt until it forms a gruel consistency. Lubricate the knee with a mixture, spread 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 for the legs not to hurt, a medicine is prepared for oral administration: gelatin is mixed in 0, 5 liters of water in the evening, heated in the morning until completely dissolved. The mixture is taken before meals for 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 for venous and joint pain in the knee.
- Kefir mask. 0, 5 l of kefir crumbled bread, add 1 tsp. drink. The mixture is insisted for 6 hours. Then the liquid is filtered, moistened with gauze, and compresses are done overnight for several days, until the pain subsides.
It is recommended to regularly apply home treatment with folk remedies, in combination with traditional medicine and modern methods. Do not wait until the disease has already firmly established itself and declared itself with severe pain, deformation of the joint. An early visit to the doctor will accelerate healing, while the chronic form of the disease is more difficult to cure.
Note:treatment with folk remedies is allowed only with the approval of a doctor, after examination and diagnosis.