Common Causes of Knee Pain

 Let's look at the common knee injuries that can cause pain and mobility issues. Educating yourself on these causes will provide you with the knowledge needed to consider your treatment options. In many cases, you will be able to take the necessary steps to gain immediate and sustained pain relief.

There are of course numerous causes of knee pain, but the most common are:

    Sprained or Torn Ligaments
    Strained and Ruptured Tendons
    Patellar Tendonitis
    Cartilage Injuries - Meniscal Tears
    Chondromalacia Patella
    Osteoarthritis of the Knee Joint
    Rheumatoid Arthritis in Knees


Common Causes of Ligament and Tendon Injuries

Any injury affecting the knee joint can cause considerable pain, time off work and possibly even permanent disability.

Knee injuries are common in sports that require twisting movements and/or sudden changes of direction, like racket ball, tennis, soccer, football, rugby, basketball, netball and alpine or water skiing.

Patellar tendonitis is usually due to overuse, especially from jumping activities related to sports such as volleyball and basketball. This is the reason patellar tendonitis is often called "jumper's knee".

To give you a better understanding of how the causes of knee pain may occur, let's first, briefly look at how the knee joint is made up:

Basic Anatomy
The knee joint is held together by a number of different ligaments and tendons.

The ligaments attach bone to bone (at the joint) & tendons attach muscle to bone.

Between the bones are layers of cartilage allowing the bone ends to glide smoothly against each other.
 

Sprained or Torn Ligaments

Sprained Ligaments:

Ligaments are somewhat like a strong elastic band. Under normal conditions they will stretch and then contract back to their original shape. When a Ligament is over stretched - like and elastic band - it may never go back to its original shape.

Torn Ligaments:

In more severe cases the ligament ends may be torn away from the bones causing severe pain and joint instability. Torn ligaments are slow to heal due to the minimal blood flow. As an example, a common injury is to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The ACL is usually injured by a sudden twisting motion. ACL and other knee injuries are common sports injuries. 

Strained and Ruptured Tendons

Strained Tendons:

Tendons are an extension of the muscles and are more pliable than the ligaments. Pulling a tendon is easy to do - especially if you fail to warm up your muscles before intense exercising. If the muscles are cold or fatigued then they will not be able to function at optimum capacity. If this happens the tendons are called upon to do more of the work load and can easily be over stressed.

Between the bones are layers of cartilage allowing the bone ends to glide smoothly against each other.

Ruptured Tendons:

If too many fibers are torn the tendon will "tear" and like the ligaments will not retract back to their original shape.

Common cause of ligament and tendon injures:

Any injury affecting the knee joint can cause considerable pain, time off work and possibly even permanent disability. Knee injuries are common in all sports that require twisting movements and/or sudden changes of direction, like in racket ball, tennis, soccer, football, rugby, basketball, netball and alpine or water skiing.

 

Patellar Tendonitis

Tendonitis around the joint is most commonly associated with the patellar tendon, the large tendon over the front of the knee. The patellar tendon connects the kneecap to the shin bone. Patellar tendonitis arises when the tendon and the tissues that surround it, become inflamed and irritated.

 

Cartilage Injuries – Meniscal Tears

Cartilage tears are seen in both young and old alike, and are an extremely common cause of knee pain. The two most common causes of a meniscus tear are through traumatic injury (often seen in athletes) and degenerative processes (seen in older adults who have more brittle cartilage). The most common mechanism of a traumatic meniscus tear occurs when the knee joint is bent and the knee is then twisted.

 

Chondromalacia Patella

Chondromalacia causes knee pain under the kneecap, caused by softening of the cartilage. Known as "Runner's Knee", it is most common in younger adults between 15-35 years of age, who are athletic and otherwise healthy. It tends to affect a greater number of females than males.

 

Osteoarthritis of the Knee Joint

Among the over 100 different types of arthritis conditions, osteoarthritis is the most common, affecting more than 20 million people in the United States alone.

Osteoarthritis is a progressive, degenerative disease in which the cartilage of the knee slowly wears away. Knee cartilage can be compared to the rubber tread of an automobile tire, which is very durable but susceptible to wear over time. Osteoarthritic changes can result in inflammation and often, debilitating pain.

The symptoms or osteoarthritis include:

•     Morning stiffness that wears off quickly
•     Swelling and stiffening of the knee joint
•     Throbbing, constant ache and warmth of the joint
•     Pain while standing
•     Pain while walking short distances
•     Pain and stiffness of the joint after prolonged inactivity, e.g. sitting in a theatre
•     Pain changing position, such as sitting to standing
•     Giving out or locking of the knee
•     Failure of the knee to respond to medication

Causes of Osteoarthritis

The condition occurs more frequently as we age. Commonly, prior to the age of 45, osteoarthritis occurs more frequently in males. After 55 years of age, it occurs more frequently in females.

Most cases of osteoarthritis have no known cause and are referred to as primary osteoarthritis. When the cause of the osteoarthritis is known, the condition is referred to as secondary osteoarthritis. The factors linked to osteoarthritis of the knee joint: are prior knee injuries and/or joint surgery, poor diet, excessive weight, lack of exercise or a genetic predisposition.

 

Rheumatoid Arthritis in Knees

Rheumatoid Arthritis of the knee is an inflammation of the joints and the tissues around the joints, such as the tendons, ligaments, and muscles.

Though less common than osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis is among the most debilitating of the over one hundred forms of arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease and is characterized by periods of flare-up and remission. It affects 1 in 100 people, although three times as many women are affected as men. People of all ages may have the condition, but it most commonly starts between the ages of 30 and 60 years old.

Causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease. The exact cause of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown. Some believe the body's immune system gets triggered into action when there is no threat, and starts attacking the tissue lining the knee joints. Essentially, the body's tissues are mistakenly attacked by their own immune system. It is possible that a virus or bacteria may trigger the disease in people with a genetic predisposition to rheumatoid arthritis. As a result, multiple family members may be affected with the disease. It has been suggested that the disease may be caused by severe stress like a life changing event such as a death in the family, divorce, loss of a job or a severe injury.

Symptoms:

    Fluctuating pain
    Redness
    Pain and swelling in the joints and difficulty moving
    Rheumatoid nodules (lumps of tissue under the skin)
    Other symptoms may include loss of appetite, fever, loss of energy and anemia.

FREE Tips to help Live with Knee Pain

1. Take care not to stress or strain the knee joint unnecessarily.
2. Take time to warm up your knees before doing any strenuous exercise.
3. Keep your knees warm. Ligaments and tendons can be damaged easier when they are cold.
4. If you experience extreme knee pain and/or cannot weight or bear, check with your physician. They may recommend an MRI or X-ray.
5. Make an effort to keep your weight under control. Excessive weight can put undue stress on the knees.
6. Proper footwear is important if you walk or run on hard surfaces.
7. Wear a Far Infrared SOOTHING FIT Knee Band every day to help reduce pain in your knee(s).