Knee pain is the most common complaint among all the joints of the human body. The knee joint is complex, it bears a lot of weight during various types of physical activity, so there can be many reasons for the pain. Pain, even if it occurs occasionally and goes away on its own, should go unnoticed.
Knee pain, no matter how intense, significantly affects quality of life. There is no pleasure in your favorite type of outdoor activity, efficiency decreases, and a simple shopping trip becomes a problem.
In our article, we will consider what to do when there are injuries to the knee joints, how to treat them and whether it is possible to get rid of discomfort in the knees forever - the last question is especially relevant for older people whoLet's consider sedentary movement and joint pain. The syndrome is an indispensable companion of age.
pain diagnosis
- It is necessary to find out the nature of the pain. The pain can be sharp, burning, stabbing, aching.
- Eliminating the circumstances of the onset of pain - sudden sharp pain at night, after exertion, when walking, in the morning.
- Were there any other signs of joint damage: swelling, hyperemia (redness), joint deformity, crunching, restriction of mobility.
- Check for a history of infection, strain, foot injury, or increased physical activity.
- To undergo an instrumental examination in a medical and preventive institution (LPU) - blood tests, X-ray diagnosis, analysis of synovial fluid.
causes of knee pain
There are more than 200 articular 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 is causing your knee pain.
traumatic pathology
In traumatic deformities, knee pain occurs with joint injuries (blows, falls, prolonged stress on the joints - typical for athletes) or with general diseases of the body.
Let's consider the main traumatic pathology.
knee fracture
Fracture or dislocation of the patella, fracture of the condyles of the femur and/or tibia. When you fall from a height with your knees bent, in case of a car accident etc.
The victim experiences a sharp sharp pain at the time of impact, with time the pain does not stop, it may be a little weak, but intensifies with pressing or walking.
The joint swells, becomes deformed, fills with blood (haemarthrosis), the knee does not bend, and the patella becomes abnormally movable.
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 varying complexity (complete, incomplete, complicated by the breakdown of soft tissues, 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.
Knee joint dislocation is a serious injury, and if you do not take care of it in time, everything can end in serious complications. Dislocation of the knee joint is the most painful of all types, although it is a rare phenomenon. .
Serious injuries such as dislocations should be treated in medical institutions, so there should be no independent intervention. This is what traumatologists do.
Sprains, rupture of tendons, ligaments
Depending on the degree of damage (partial rupture of individual fibers, incomplete tear, complete rupture), symptoms are: crunching and clicking during movement, bruising below the rupture site, joint flexion-extension limitation, knee swelling, the joint is also mobile (with a complete rupture of the 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, infection, metabolic disorders, autoimmune disease. Often occurs in athletes and people with increased body weight. Knees are swollen, pain varies in intensity, but with exertion and at nightincreases.
meniscus tear
May be the result of trauma or degenerative changes in cartilage tissue. Acute trauma is characterized by severe pain, swelling and limited mobility. Symptoms of degenerative changes are mild.
joint diseases
Knee pain can be a symptom of a medical condition.
we have listedThe most common diseases with knee pain syndrome:
gout
Diagnosis is much less common than in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This is due to the discovery of penicillin (and then to the production of other antibiotics) and the low diagnostic capabilities in the past, when almost all joint diseases were attributed to arthritis. Was.
A typical sign of arthritis is alternating joint pain: first, one joint becomes inflamed, then another. For example, knee pain subsides, but in another large joint (elbow, hip)it happens.
Gout is more common in children and adolescents, the disease develops after streptococcal infection of the upper respiratory tract.
Note: Advanced arthritis results from damage to the heart (rheumatic heart disease) or the nervous system (chorea).
reactive arthritis
It is more common in people of reproductive age, as inflammation of the joints is often caused by pathogenic microbes that enter the human body sexually.
Much less often, reactive arthritis is caused by infection of the gastrointestinal tract or nasopharyngeal infectious inflammation (sore throat, flu). After 1-4 weeks of illness, the patient noticed that his legs began to ache at night.
Swelling and pain may occur in both the large joint (knee, ankle) and small (aching or aching pain in the big toe). Knee pain is accompanied by swelling and/or redness.
Sometimes symptoms include conjunctivitis (swelling and pain in the eyes), keratoderma (thickening of the skin on the soles of the feet).
Reiter's syndrome
Urethritis (frequent, painful urination) and intestinal disorders are among the common reactive arthritis symptoms.
osteoarthritis
The disease of the elderly. Periodically at night there is pain in the knees "to season. " The load on the joint (prolonged walk) increases pain, swelling and reduces the mobility of the joints.
The pain disappears after rest and warming up.
baker's cyst
Swelling in the back of the knee, feeling of tightness, difficulty in movement.
Osteochondritis dissecans (Koning's disease)
The cartilage covering the bone peels off, causing knee pain, and when the piece is completely peeled off, movement of the joint is impeded.
Osgood-Schlatter disease
It is diagnosed more often in adolescents. Knee pain worsens when sitting up and down stairs, sitting.
rheumatoid arthritis
An autoimmune disease, the mechanism of which is unclear. It has been observed that the initial conditions are a general list of loads on the immune system: from stress and infection to hypothermia. Immune bodies attacking their own cells cause inflammation of the jointespecially its synovium.
Under the influence of the attack of immune cells, the membrane swells, increases in volume, and then begins to grow into nearby cartilage and bone tissue. The result of the process is pain in the knee joint, which occurs in the second half of the night. becomes unbearable.
The disease lasts for years, treatment includes non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroid hormones, gold preparations, immunosuppressants, anti-malarial drugs.
Arising from improper metabolism. caused by the abuse of alcohol, "purine" products (meat, smoked meats, pickles).
The uric acid formed in the blood accumulates in the joints in the form of sodium urate crystals. The increasing "deposit" gradually affects the mobility of the joint, severe attacks of pain appear, the time interval between attacks is gradual. gradually decreases.
Vascular pain in the knees is characterized by a pulling sensation along the vein, sometimes patients notice an intense 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 "helps the neighbor". After all, which oneHelps to heal joint injury. He can provoke an increase in the autoimmune mechanism of the disease.
knee pain treatment
Based on the diagnosis the doctor selects a regimen for treatment.
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 blockade.
- With degenerative processes - drugs with chondroprotectors help to restore the cartilage tissue of the joint.
If necessary, resort to surgery, endoprosthetics, use physiotherapy and therapeutic exercises for the joints.
pain relief products
Checklist for people with knee pain - what to do to relieve the condition.
| cause pain | What to do |
|---|---|
| pain is clearly triggered by trauma | Joint and limb immobility on the knee, provide ice or cold compress. Immediate medical attention. |
| Arthritis pain (reactive, rheumatoid, etc. ) | Specific treatment with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory drugs is prescribed only by a doctor. For night pain, you can apply a warming compress, ointment based on bee venom. |
| Pain in arthrosis after exercise or at night (post-traumatic, age-related, overweight people) | Any warming compresses with herbal tinctures, rubbed in ointments with chondroprotectors. |
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) relieve severe joint pain.
But most patients (overweight people, age-related changes in the joints) will not need to think about what to do with pain if they have observed a preventive minimum:
- proper nutrition with a sufficient amount of calcium, vitamins, the fight against excess weight;
- reduction of severe stress on the joint until a change in work, if it involves "standing on one's feet" all day;
- systematic physical therapy to strengthen muscles and ligaments - a good muscular 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. Timely visit to the doctor and an arsenal of folk remedies will help preserve the joy of movement until old age.
Joint treatment at home - folk recipes
Home recipes for ointments and compresses based on natural ingredients are used in courses - this is the only way to achieve lasting results.
7 Simple Folk Remedies for Knee Pain:
- Cabbage leaves. An incision is made on a fresh leaf so that the juice is released. Apply this "compress" on the knee by adding a spoonful of honey in the middle. The sheet is fixed with a bandage. Wear a bandage all day or nightProcess in. Burdock and plantain leaves are used in a similar way.
- Tincture of propolis for rheumatism. If the knee "bends" at night (dull pain can be caused by the change of seasons to stress on the feet), lubricate the joint with the mixture, rubbing it into the skin untilIt does not dry out. If the knees hurt a lot, they make a full compress: moisten the soft tissue with tincture and apply it to the joint, cover it with a film, wrap it with a scarf. The tool is also used to heat the joint if the pain in a knee has become cold. Similarly, they use tinctures from natural stimulants: aloe, Kalanchoe, mummy, bee dead.
Necessary:Biologically active substances cannot be used if the disease is of an autoimmune nature. Stimulants activate the immune system and exacerbate the disease.
- Gelatin compress. A piece of gauze soaked in warm water is squeezed out, 1 tsp is inserted in the center. Gelatin, applied to the joint, covered with food foil and wrapped. Process at night for 14 daysRepeat. The product promotes joint nutrition and cartilage regeneration.
- Mustard compress will help if your knee hurts badly. Take equal quantity of honey and dry mustard, add lukewarm water and salt and mix until a thick batter is formed. Lubricate the knee with a mixture, a film and bandageLie down with a cloth. Exposure time 20-40 min. , remove if severe burns. A mustard compress is used for pain every other day.
- So that the legs do not hurt, a drug is prepared for oral administration: gelatin is dissolved in 0. 5 liters of water in the evening and heated in the morning until it is completely dissolved. The mixture is taken with food. The first - taken in 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 into the knee for venous and joint pain.
- Kefir mask. Pour 0. 5 liters of kefir crumbled bread, 1 tsp. soda. The mixture is insisted for 6 hours. Then the liquid is filtered, moistened with gauze and left overnight for several days. Compressed for, until the pain disappears.
It is advisable to regularly apply home remedies with folk remedies, in conjunction with traditional medicine and modern methods. Do not wait until the disease has already firmly established itself andDeclares itself with severe pain, deformity of the joint. Early to the doctor will speed up recovery, while the chronic form of the disease is more difficult to cure.
pay attention:Treatment with folk remedies is allowed only after examination and diagnosis with the approval of a doctor.