People of all ages and different lifestyles can 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 both minor injuries and severe illness. When moving, healthy people, as a rule, do not experience painful sensations, their appearance can be caused by daily wear on the joints, excessive physical exertion or injury. In this case, the onset of discomfort and reduced mobility can be felt during sports activities, recreation, carrying out housework or work activities.
Knee pain: causes
Knee pain can occur if you have the following conditions:
- osteoarthritis of the knee joint (gonarthrosis);
- damage to the menisci (meniscopathy);
- arthritis (joint inflammation);
- arthrosis of the hip joint (coxarthrosis);
- circulatory disorders of the knee joint;
- inflammation of the hamstrings (periarthritis of the "crow's feet" bursa).
Pain in the knee joint with gonarthrosis
30 to 40% of cases of knee joint pain are due to gonarthrosis. Osteoarthritis of the knee joint is most often diagnosed in people over the age of 40-45. The pathological process can develop in one or both knee joints. At first, the intensity of pain is mild, the onset of discomfort is observed only after a long walk. As the disease progresses, severe pain in the knee joint is noted, which bothers a person when walking, even for short distances.
It becomes difficult for the patient to get up from the chair, get up from the hips, go down and up the stairs. A sore knee does not bother him at rest, at night, except in cases of excessive strain on the knee the day before.
In the later stages of gonarthrosis, pain is complemented by a crunch in the knee (when walking) and joint deformation. This symptomatology becomes more pronounced every year.
Pain in the knee joint 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 is equally common in both women and men. Damage to a knee joint is predominantly seen.
Meniscopathy can be attributed to injury, but it can often occur in an apparently flat place. A feature of the meniscus injury of the knee, in contrast to gonarthrosis, is a rapid and often rather unexpected development, provoked by an unsuccessful movement when running, walking, jumping, skiing, etc.
The injury is accompanied by a crunch in the knee, a sensation of sharp pain in the knee joint, the intensity of which is so high that the victim cannot move. After a slight weakening of acute pain, which usually occurs after 10-15 minutes, the patient's ability to move is restored. However, the next day or in a day, the pain syndrome intensifies again, the knee swells a lot. At this stage, the clinical picture of meniscopathy is complemented by the characteristic hallmark of the pinched meniscus: a knee piercing when walking, a "hammered nail" sensation 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 relieved. In the absence of adequate therapy, the disease becomes chronic. Painful sensations decrease, so any circumstances (heavy loads, squats, sudden fruitless movements) provoke their recurrence.
Meniscopathy, unlike gonarthrosis, is extremely rarely accompanied by deformation of the bones of the knee joint, which can only occur 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 any age, but most often it 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, joint rheumatism are also called arthritis.
Arctic inflammation of the knee joint is characterized by a rapid onset (in 1-3 days), which is accompanied by noticeable swelling and swelling of the knee, as well as increased pain in the affected joint at night. The severity of pain in arthritis can 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 (osteoarthritis of the hip joint) affects 3 to 7 percent 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 absence of difficulty with its painless flexion and extension, it is difficult for a patient with coxarthrosis to spread the legs to the sides, rotate the legs "from the hip . "
Pain in the knee joint with poor circulation
Vascular knee pain associated with circulation problems accounts for 5 to 10% of doctor visits for knee problems.
The deterioration of blood circulation in the knee joints, accompanied by pain, is familiar to many. As a rule, these unpleasant sensations first appear in adolescence, since 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 need to be prepared that they will appear for life. However, the degree of their intensity more often decreases after 19-20 years.
Pain in vascular disorders is usually symmetrical, i. e. their expression in the left and right knees is the same. The onset of pain syndrome is associated with a change in weather, a change in air temperature, colds and physical exertion. For the treatment of such pains, warming ointments, massage, self-massage (vigorous rubbing of the knees) and vasodilator drugs are used. No special treatment is required for these conditions.
Knee pain due to inflammation of the hamstrings
About 10-15% of knee pain is associated with inflammation of the hamstrings (crow's feet periarthritis). Most often, this pathology occurs in the female half, mainly after 40 years. Pain syndrome occurs when walking down stairs and carrying weights. Calmly 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 contact point of the knees when they are brought together. Goose sac periarthritis, unlike arthritis, arthrosis and meniscopathy, is not accompanied by limitation of joint mobility of the knee. Knee flexion and extension are not disturbed, knee deformity and swelling are absent.
Knee pain
The main goals of the treatment of pain in the knee joint, which are set by the doctors of the therapeutic clinic, are as follows:
- eliminate swelling;
- relieve the patient from unpleasant sensations;
- 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 distracting ointments, as well as fortifying drugs is effective.
In the phase of remission, patients are prescribed the use of physiotherapeutic techniques, massage and therapeutic exercises.
In the absence of effectiveness of conservative therapy, experts, taking into account all the pros and cons, are evaluating the advisability of surgical treatment.
In addition, there are a number of traditional medicines that help reduce pain, but their use must 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 and highly qualified doctor who is familiar with the patient's research results, the individual characteristics of his body and many other important nuances.