Knee pain is a really common ailment that bothers a lot of us, especially as we age. If it isn't too bad, you can rest and observe your condition, but if it's started after an injury, or is getting worse over time, you should get it checked. 

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WHAT CAUSES KNEE PAIN?

 

There's many causes of knee pain, in a few broad categories:

 

1. DEGENERATIVE KNEE PAIN

 

This refers to knee pain that starts bothering you as the cartilage in your knee starts to wear out, especially as you age, or if you have been subjecting your knee to high stresses for a prolonged period. As the cartilage wears out more and more,
your knee will start to hurt as you walk around, squat and stand, or climb stairs. The pain will get better with rest.

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2. INFLAMMATORY ARTHRITIS

 

Some people develop inflammatory conditions, with pain and swelling in several joints, and this can include the knee joint. You may have a condition like this if your parents or other relatives had it too (like Rheumatoid Arthritis), or if your joint
pain and swelling is very recurrent. Gout is a kind of inflammatory arthritis, and will cause joint pain and swelling when you eat certain trigger foods, like red meat, beans, or if you drink beer. You need some blood tests and an x-ray to get this checked.

 

3. MENISCUS TEAR

 

Everyone has 2 semicircular pieces of cartilage in their knees, called the meniscus. A sudden knee twisting injury or fall can cause you to tear this cartilage, and you'll get knee pain and swelling that can persist for weeks. 

 

4. LIGAMENT INJURY

 

A twisting injury to your knee or a bad fall can cause a ligament injury. Ligaments are small, tough bands of tissue in your knee that keep your knee stable as you go about your daily life. A tear will cause persistent knee pain and swelling, and your knee may feel unstable when you walk or run - it may feel like your knee is giving way, or buckling, under you. You definitely need to see a specialist and get some scans to get this kind of injury checked.

 

5. BONE INJURY

 

A fall or hard impact to your knee can cause a fracture in your bone. You'll have terribly bad pain and knee swelling and bruising that gets worse after the initial injury - you need to get an x-ray to check for this kind of injury!

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6. ANTERIOR KNEE PAIN

 

Pain under the front of your kneecap is usually due to a bit of cartilage degeneration in that area. It tends to occur when you climb stairs, go up slopes, or squat and stand, since these activities place more pressure on the cartilage in the front of
your knee.

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7. TENDONS

 

As you bend and straighten your knee, your tendons can sometimes rub on the bony prominences around the knee joint. When this happens repetitively,e specially over a prolonged period, you can have some inflammation in the tendon, and have pain in a specific area (depending on which tendon is affected) every time you bend and straighten your knee, or do some squatting or running activities. You'll need to start doing some regular stretching exercises for this condition, so seeing a physiotherapist would be helpful.

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8. NERVE PAIN

 

There are nerves that come off your spine in your lower back region, and go down your leg. They give you sensation in your leg, and help you to move your leg muscles. Any spine problem that causes pressure (or 'impingement' on these nerves can cause you to feel pain around your knee region, even though the main problem is actually in your lower back, rather than your knee.

 

9. RARE STUFF

 

Very rarely, there may actually be a tumour in one of the bones in your knee joint. This is a serious condition, and will cause pain that persists even with medication. It may also keep you up late into the night, since the pain a tumour causes does not improve much with rest.

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Also, you can get pieces of loose bone that move within your knee joint, and cause friction and pain in the knee on you bending and straightening your knee. You may also feel a 'crackling' sensation in your knee as you bend and straighten it.

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HOW DO I KNOW IF MY KNEE PAIN IS DUE TO SOMETHING SERIOUS?

 

Generally speaking, knee pain that isn't too bad, flares up with movement and exercise, and improves when you rest and stay off your feet is something mechanical, and is probably a strain.

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Signs of a serious knee condition include:
- pain that is very recurrent, and keeps flaring up even after you rest and it initially resolves
- pain that does not improve even with medication and rest
- pain that keeps you up at night
- pain after a fall or knee injury
- instability in your knee - when your knee buckles or gives way under you

 

You should consider seeing a doctor to get your knee checked if you have any of the above symptoms. He or she can recommend any tests that you may need, such as an x-ray or some blood tests.

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WHAT TESTS CAN BE DONE TO CHECK MY KNEE?

 

You can have a knee x-ray done - this shows the bones iny our knee, and the cartilage spaces in between these bones.
 

You can have your knee checked for any degenerative arthritis, or bony injury.

If you've been having recurrent episodes of knee pain and swelling, or instability, especially after an injury, you may actually need an MRI scan to check for a meniscus or ligament injury. Your doctor can refer you on to see a knee specialist to see if an MRI scan needs to be arranged. However, an MRI is actually expensive, and is usually only done on an appointment basis.

 

Your doctor may want you to have some blood tests done to check for inflammatory arthritis, if your joint pain and swelling is very recurrent.

 

WHAT CAN I DO?

 

Now comes the most important bit - what can YOU do to manage a simple mechanical knee strain?

 

1. LOSE WEIGHT

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When you carry extra weight, you're putting more pressure on your knee joints, and you're more prone to getting flares of mechanical knee pain. 

 

Maintain a healthy diet; high in fibre (like vegetables), lean protein (like chicken breast) and low in unhealthy fats (like that in fast food), or follow an 'intermittent fasting' diet to lose the extra fat you're carrying, and take some load off your knees. 

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2. EXERCISE

 

Exercising regularly helps you maintain a healthy weight with mostly lean muscle mass. It's also important to do strengthening exercises for your thigh muscles, since they help support your knee and reduce flares of knee pain. Check out some of our recommended strengthening exercises here. 

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When you do your general exercises sessions, be careful to not injure yourself when working out. Always spend a few minutes warming up prior to your workout. Do your exercises with good form to minimise your risk of injury.

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If you want to keep fit but have pain when you go for a briskwalk or run, you can try cycling, or running in a swimming pool. Both these exercises help tone up your leg muscles, without placing too much stress on your knee joints.

 

3. STRETCH OFTEN

 

Do daily knee stretches daily to stretch your thigh muscles, like your quads and your hamstrings muscles. They're really easy and quick to do, and can help reduce your flares of knee pain. Check out some recommended knee stretches here.

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4. REST

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Take some time off from the activities that you find tends to trigger your anterior knee pain. This typically includes running upslope, climbing stairs, squatting activities, and lower body exercises like squats, lunges and step-ups.

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A good period to rest your knee would be 2 to 4 weeks.

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WRAP IT UP!

 

Knee pain is a really common condition - all of us are going to have it at some point in our lives. Just make sure it isn't something serious, and follow the above simple lifestyle changes to manage your knee pain.