The main purpose of the knee joint is to ensure normal motor activity of the lower limb and achieve a stable position of the torso. In this case, this part of the body is assigned the most important role - participation in the processes of flexion and extension of the limb.
Despite the complex structure and sufficient strength of this joint, it can be subject to injury, thermal influences, physical overload, various complications due to chronic infectious processes and, as a result, serious inflammatory processes with an increased likelihood of limitation of movements and accumulation of exudate. To prevent such undesirable manifestations, it is recommended to promptly contact a qualified specialist for a thorough diagnosis and drawing up a competent treatment plan.
The knee is the most complex and largest joint in the human body.
Every day, a serious load is placed on the knee joint. It is responsible for the process of flexion and extension of the lower limb, supports the weight of a person and ensures his stable position. It is the knee that allows us to walk, jump, run, squat and turn.
The ability to perform these actions is ensured by the following components:
- Tendons;
- Bones;
- Cartilage;
- Ligaments and muscles.
This explains why pain in the knee joint can occur in people of any age group. We can talk about effective treatment and complete recovery only after finding out the cause of the disease.
Reasons why knees hurt
So, the knee joint has an important role in the human body: it is responsible for the motor activity of the leg, keeps the body in a stable position and supports the weight of a person. Moreover, the knee has a complex structure, represented by several interconnected elements.
If a person has knee pain and is trying to find a solution to what to do, first of all it is necessary to find out the factors causing the discomfort. As a rule, the causes of the disease are the same for all situations.
The risk factors are identical in almost all cases: musculofascial dysfunction. This leads to significant tension, which causes compression and destruction of the cartilage. As a result, a person begins to experience unpleasant sensations, signaling damage to the knee joint, and begins to look for a way to eliminate the pathological process.
Injury
If you don’t know what to do when your knees hurt, pay attention - the reasons may be hidden in injury to the joint. This is the part of the body that is injured more often than others. As a result, joint dysfunction occurs, which is accompanied by pain.
Such discomfort may be due to ligament damage. Representatives of professional sports activities are most often susceptible to injury. Also, pain and problems with ligaments can occur in people who do not follow the running technique. Often, knee damage occurs as a result of being hit by a ball - during a game of football.
It should be noted that such injuries occur quite often. Moreover, discomfort can occur not only during an exacerbation, but also after it.
In the event of a fracture, several bones can be destroyed at once. More often than others, this occurs in elderly patients and people susceptible to degenerative pathologies.
In case of severe damage to the joint, surgery, physiotherapeutic procedures and exercise therapy are performed.
Bursitis
The main purpose of the joint capsule is to ensure easy sliding of the ligaments and improve the functioning of the knee joint itself. Chronic injuries and unexpected blows can provoke damage and cause inflammation.
The presence of bursitis is indicated by the following signs: swelling, pain, limitation of motor activity, increased temperature in the knee joint.
If your knees hurt badly, in order to understand what to do and how to treat this ailment, you should first perform a thorough diagnosis. Only an individual approach to the problem will allow you to draw up the correct treatment plan and select effective medications with an anti-inflammatory effect. You should also adhere to a rest regime for the knee joint.
In advanced forms of bursitis, they resort to more serious measures - surgical intervention and special injections are performed.
Dislocations
We are talking about a displacement of the kneecap from its normal position, which is also accompanied by pain of increased intensity.
In this case, only an experienced specialist can answer the question of what to do if there is pain under the knee - after a thorough diagnosis and examination.
In order to identify fractures and draw up the correct treatment plan, they resort to x-ray examination. In advanced situations, surgical intervention is performed.
Often a dislocation of the knee joint can cause pain. This is a fairly serious injury that occurs after a strong blow.
Degenerative disorders
One of the common pathologies associated with degenerative changes in tissues is osteoarthritis. In this case, the cartilage decreases in size, which is accompanied by impaired motor activity of the joint and pain. As a rule, such pathological processes are caused by age-related changes in the body that occur in people aged 55-65 years.
Despite the irreversibility of degenerative changes, there are treatments that can cope with discomfort and help improve the quality of life. In advanced forms of the disease, the implant is installed surgically.
Autoimmune diseases
We are talking about inflammatory processes that affect the joints. They are characterized by malfunctions of the immune system, as a result of which it begins to perceive its own tissues as foreign and destroy them.
This process is accompanied by the following undesirable manifestations: swelling, pain and degenerative changes in the joints, erosive lesions of bone tissue.
Taking into account the clinical picture, the specialist will tell you what exactly you need to do when your knee joints hurt. As a rule, the patient is recommended to take the following medications:
- Anti-inflammatory drugs;
- Steroid hormones;
- Antirheumatic drugs and biological agents;
- Analgesics and others.
Salt deposition in joints
This is a metabolic disease associated with the deposition of uric acid salts in the tissues of the body. The main signs of gout are: severe swelling, limited physical activity, and intense pain. In order to break down urate crystals, special medications are prescribed, as well as anti-inflammatory drugs.
Infectious processes
Even a minor scratch in the knee area can contribute to the spread of the infectious process to nearby tissues and organs, including the joint area.
In people with weakened immune systems, this poses a real danger to the body. That is, any damage to the skin can worsen the condition of such a patient.
What not to do when your knees hurt?
Regardless of the reason why your knees hurt, below we will tell you what not to do to avoid worsening the condition:
- Avoid knee injury;
- Avoid foods that contribute to weight gain (fried and fatty foods, confectionery, foods high in salt, potatoes, sweet carbonated drinks, fast food);
- Avoid any excessive physical activity associated with sports;
- If your knees hurt and you don’t know what to do with such discomfort, as reviews indicate, it is better to give up addictions (excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages and smoking tobacco);
- Avoid wearing tight shoes, avoid high heels;
- Minimize the likelihood of stressful situations;
- Ensure healthy, full sleep;
- Avoid staying in one position for a long time.
In what cases is a visit to the doctor required?
There is no need for medical intervention if pain in the knee area was caused by minor skin damage, minor injury or deformation of the joint. In such situations, self-treatment is allowed.
With more severe processes, there is an urgent need to visit a specialist. First of all, this is due to the likelihood of damage to the joint capsule, which can facilitate the penetration of pathogenic bacteria into the body.
If the consequences of the injury are not eliminated in a timely manner, the functionality of the joint may be lost. It is necessary to consult a doctor in the following situations:
- Your knees hurt badly, and you have no information on what to do, what to do;
- The pain syndrome of increased intensity does not go away for several days;
- There is swelling, redness, and fever in the joint area;
- Increase in body temperature;
- Decreased motor activity, bruising.
Experienced specialists perform a thorough diagnosis of the condition of the knee joint, draw up a detailed treatment plan and select the most effective treatment even for the most advanced pathologies.
Treatment of knee pain
Often people do not know what exactly to do when their knee joints hurt, and they try to cope with the discomfort on their own. Unfortunately, uncontrolled use of medications and the use of special ointments can give the opposite result.
To quickly relieve pain, an integrated approach is required. Within the framework of it, not only medications are used, but also physiotherapeutic procedures are performed and special orthopedic devices are used. These include knee braces and braces, which help prevent the likelihood of relapses and ensure a faster recovery period.
Use of medications
To relieve pain, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroid hormones, vasodilators and chondroprotectors are prescribed. Specialists prescribe painkillers with extreme caution, since they do not allow them to determine the real condition of the knee joint. Next we will talk about the medications used in more detail:
- NSAIDs.Since eliminating the inflammatory process and pain is the key task for discomfort in the knee area, doctors primarily recommend the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. For this purpose, they resort to the help of special tablets and ointments. If the pain becomes aching, patients are given intramuscular injections. If your knees hurt slightly, in this case, when asked: "What should I do? ", any doctor will advise you to use ointment. Often, when the knee joint is injured, products containing glycosaminoglycan are used. In turn, to eliminate swelling, they resort to compresses with dimethyl sulfoxide;
- Chondroprotectors.Regardless of whether your knees hurt after running or after a long walk, or against the background of other pathologies, only an experienced doctor can advise what exactly to do. However, the general recommendation for all patients to relieve pain is to take drugs with chondroitin and glucosamine. Thanks to their use, it is possible to accelerate the process of restoration of cartilage tissue, prevent oxidative stress and ensure the growth of healthy cartilage cells. In addition, chondroprotectors contribute to a faster rehabilitation period after injury, minimize the likelihood of severe consequences and cause almost no side effects. At the same time, experts recommend taking complexes with a high content of minerals and vitamins;
- Antispasmodics and vasodilators.They help improve tissue supply, and also help restore connective tissue and eliminate swelling. In the presence of chronic pathological processes, for example, if your knee hurts for a whole year, the discomfort returns, and you do not know what to do, you may need to take additional antibacterial therapy and immunobiological drugs.
Physiotherapeutic procedures
If you are wondering what to do if your knee hurts when walking, or if the discomfort is chronic, any experienced specialist will suggest undergoing physical therapy treatment. With its help, it is possible to increase the effectiveness of the use of medications, as well as ensure the delivery of drugs to the deeper subcutaneous layers.
Physiotherapeutic procedures help improve blood flow, eliminate pain and reduce the source of inflammation, and also normalize motor activity and ensure the removal of purulent exudate.
Even if your child's knees hurt and you are trying to figure out what to do, the following physical therapy options will be most effective:
- Impact on the body of a magnetic field;
- Laser therapy;
- Exposure to electric current in combination with the administration of drugs;
- UHF;
- Application of galvanic electric current;
- Use of therapeutic mud;
- Therapeutic effects of ultrasound;
- Massage treatments;
- Paraffin therapy;
- Amplipulse therapy;
- Treatment with medicinal leeches;
- Acupuncture;
- Cold treatment;
- Diadynamic therapy and other similar procedures.
The duration of a course of physiotherapy usually reaches 7-10 procedures. However, a prerequisite before performing treatment measures is consultation with a specialist.
UVT for knee pain
The UVT method is widely in demand in eliminating pathologies of the musculoskeletal system. It is based on short-term exposure to low-frequency acoustic waves on the affected joint.
The powerful analgesic effect during shock wave therapy sessions is achieved through the following processes:
- Improved blood flow;
- Development of new blood vessels;
- Improved metabolism.
It should be noted that under the influence of shock waves, a decrease in fibrotic processes in the tissues inside the knee joint is observed.
The greatest effectiveness is achieved by using the UVT method for the deposition of calcium phosphate crystals in the tendons. The technique is characterized by increased safety and virtually no side effects.
UVT specialists will clearly determine the number of treatment sessions and their duration, and will also give valuable recommendations regarding the implementation of other restorative procedures.
The need to perform a puncture
If there is significant swelling, specialists remove purulent contents that limit the normal functioning and supply of the joint. To drain the exudate, a puncture is performed using a syringe under the influence of anesthetics.
If the desired result is not obtained during physiotherapeutic procedures and the use of medications, the doctor injects hyaluronic acid into the knee joint or performs a periarticular anesthetic blockade. When purulent inflammatory processes are detected, treatment with medications is combined with the procedure of washing the knee joint with a medicinal solution (lavage).
Surgical intervention for pain in the knee area is performed in rare cases, most often in advanced situations.
Exercise therapy for knee pain
Often, when experiencing pain in the knee, experts recommend performing therapeutic exercises. By regularly performing simple exercises, the patient can quickly restore the motor activity of the joint, relieve pain and provide optimal load on this part of the body. These beneficial effects are achieved by improving muscle tone. You can get the desired result after 8-10 sessions. It is important to exclude any sudden movements during physical therapy.
The following exercises are suitable for doing at home:
- The patient assumes a "lying" position and stretches his legs forward. Next, he performs alternate flexion and extension of the fingers of the lower extremities;
- While in the "lying" position, you need to straighten your legs. After this, the patient turns his feet in different directions, trying to bring them closer to the floor;
- In the "lying down" position and with legs extended, the patient should try to extend his toes towards the knee joint;
- The patient takes the "lying" position. Then he places both hands under the knee, trying to slowly bend the limb. In this case, the knee must be smoothly raised towards the chest;
- While in the "lying" position, it is necessary to make movements with your legs similar to riding a bicycle.
Prevention measures
Questions like: "What to do if the nerve in your knee hurts? ", or "What measures to take if your knees hurt after a long walk? " will lose their relevance if you follow simple preventive measures. These include:
- Elimination of infectious processes and conditions after knee injury should be carried out under the supervision of a professional specialist;
- It is mandatory to eliminate pathological processes of a chronic or hereditary nature (gout, diabetes, tonsillitis);
- Maintain a normal weight by eliminating excessively sweet, salty and fatty foods, as well as alcoholic beverages from the diet;
- Engage in moderate exercise;
- Once a year, take chondroprotectors and undergo examination by a specialist;
- Follow the rules of healthy sleep;
- Take about 2-3 liters of still water daily;
- Eliminate any possibility of hypothermia;
- Wear only comfortable shoes and clothes;
- Avoid staying in one position for a long time.