Knee Pain: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Knee pain is a common complaint that tends to affect people of all ages.

Moreover, it can occur due to a number of reasons, ranging from injuries to medical conditions.

Injuries may include ruptured ligaments to torn cartilage, while medical conditions include arthritis, gout, and infections.

Many types of minor knee pain respond well to self-care measures.

With the help of physical therapy and knee braces, you can help relieve pain.

However, in some cases, your knee may need surgical repair.

It is important to note that to end knee pain, you will need to find its cause.

Then your healthcare provider can help form the right treatment plan for you.

Keep on reading to learn more about the causes of knee pain, diagnosis, and what treatment options are available.

Common Causes of Knee Pain

Your knee is a complex structure and includes three bones.

These are:

• the lower part of the thighbone
• the upper part of the shinbone
• kneecap

Strong ligaments and tendons can also hold these bones together.

Cartilage under kneecap cushions and stabilizes the bones.

Moreover, any damage or disease in these structures can cause knee pain.

Some common causes of knee pain are:

• arthritis
• ligaments injuries
• torn meniscus
• patellar tendonitis and tea
• patellofemoral pain syndrome
• baker’s cyst
• prepatellar bursitis
• iliotibial band syndrome

Let’s discuss them as follows:

Knee Arthritis and Ligament Injuries

Different types of arthritis can affect your knee joint. The two most common are osteoarthritis, OA, and Rheumatoid arthritis, RA.

Knee OA

It develops as a result of the ‘wear and tear’ of knee cartilage.

Moreover, it tends to be common in people over the age of 50 and can start as a sharp pain when your move.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

RA is an autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks your joints.

It causes pain, swelling, redness, and warmth, and RA knee pain tends to improve with activity.

On the other hand, you have four primary ligaments in your knees, and can have issues like:

Medial Collateral Ligament, MCL

Runs up the inside of your knee and medial means toward the middle.

Lateral Collateral Ligament, LCL

It runs up the outside of your knee, while lateral means away from the center of the body.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament, ACL

ACL runs diagonally through the inside of your knee joint, in front of the PCL while anterior means front.

Posterior Cruciate Ligament, PCL

PCL runs diagonally through the inside of the knee joint, behind the ACL, while the posterior means behind.

These all attach your thighbone, i.e. femur to your tibia, i.e. shin bone.

LIGAMENT	INJURY CAUSES	FEELS LIKE
MCL	Direct blow to the outside of the knee	Pain inside the knee
LCL	Blow to the inside of the knee	Pain on the outside of the knee
ACL	Direct blow or sudden direction change while running2	The knee is giving out or “popping”
PCL	High-energy impact, like from a car accident	Pain in the back of the knee plus instability

It is important to note that ACL injuries are the most common type of knee injury while PCL injuries are uncommon.

Torn Knee Cartilage, Patellar Tendonitis, and Tear

The menisci are tough, ‘C’ shaped pieces of cartilage, and two in each knee cushion your joint.

A torn meniscus is the common cause of knee pain.

Moreover, when a meniscus, you may hear a popping sound that is followed by gradually developing symptoms.

These are stiffness, swelling, clicking, locking, and catching.

When you are young, it is most likely due to a sports injury, while when you are older, weakness from age can make you more prone to tears.

On the other hand, patellar tendonitis is the inflammation of the patellar tendon which is the large tendon connecting the kneecap to the top of your tibia.

Moreover, patellar tendonitis is common in athletes who do a lot of running and jumping, and they often describe it as a constant dull pain.

This pain can become sharp when you are active.

In some cases, a weak patellar tendon can also tear and cause:

• severe pain
• swelling over the knee
• a tearing or popping sensation

If it is a bad tea, you may notice an indention at the bottom of your kneecap and the knee can give out while you walk.

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome and Other Common Causes

Patellofemoral pain syndrome is most common in adolescents and young adults.

It occurs due to vigorous activities that stress your knee like running, squatting, and climbing stairs.

Moreover, abnormal alignment can cause it as well, and so can soft cartilage that is wearing away.

This condition is the chondromalacia patella.

Furthermore, patellofemoral pain syndrome causes a dull, aching pain under the kneecap.

Pain tends to get worse with frequent knee bending or after sitting for a long term and may pop when you climb stairs or stand up.

Knee swelling and locking are, however, rare in this syndrome.

Some other common causes of knee pain are:

Baker’s Cyst: Swelling in the back of the knee joint and can be due to a meniscus tear.

It can cause tightening, pain, stiffness, and a visible bulge that gets worse with activity.

Prepatellar Bursitis: It is swelling of the prepatellar bursa, i.e. fluid-filled sac over the kneecap, and can cause mild ache.

Moreover, it can result from kneeling a lot, for instance, if you do regular gardening, or laying carpet.

Iliotibial Band, ITP Syndrome: Swelling of the ITB, i.e thick fibers on the outside of the tight and can b cause to overuse.

ITP causes aching and burning pain on the outside of the knee joint.

Less Common Causes of Knee Pain

Less common causes of significant knee pain include conditions and injuries which include:

Dislocated Kneecap: It causes sharp blows to the knee or twisting.

Severe pain in the front of the knee pain, as well as buckling, slipping or catching during movement.

Kneecap Fracture: This fracture occurs due to a direct blow or falls onto the knee.

Pain, difficulty straightening the leg, bruising, and swelling can occur and in some cases, there can be a visible deformity.

While conditions that cause knee pain are:

Gout: High uric acid levels form sharp crystals inside the joints.

It can affect the knee, hip, fingers, and especially the big toe, while pain can be severe.

Plica Syndrome: This syndrome causes irritation of the synovium, i.e. joint lining.

Moreover, it causes pain in the middle and front of the knee, and worsens with inactivity or squatting, running, or kneeling. The knee may also pop when you bend it.

Osgood-Schlatter Disease: Strikes after growth spurts in kids aging from 9 to 14.

Pain often occurs in the front of the knees and improves with rest, while worsens with activities like running and jumping.

Osteochondritis Dissecans: Occurs in children, due to a lack of blood supply that weakness the bone and cartilage.

The knee may also separate from the underlying bone, and causes pain with activity.

Knee Joint Infections: Infections can cause pain, swelling, warmth, painful movements, and fever.

Additionally, it may result from bacterial infections in the bloodstream.

Bone Tumor: Rarely, a tumor can be a source of knee pain.

While symptoms include fever, unintentional weight loss, and pain that can worsen at night.

Diagnosing Knee Pain

Your doctor can diagnose knee pain depending on the physical examination along.

However, with the help of additional tests, they can confirm the diagnosis, and determine the best treatment.

Medical History

Your healthcare provider will likely as you a lot of questions about your pain.

Moreover, they may ask about the location of the pain, timing, and other symptoms, like swelling, fever, chills, aches in other areas, fatigue, or unexplained weight loss.

Physical Examination

With the help of a thorough examination, your doctor can find the cause of the knee pain.

They will check for:

• swelling: whether there is swelling and if so when it began
• range of motion: how well you can use your knees, including straightening, bending, and standing
• stability: damage to the ligaments can make your knee feel like it is giving out

• locking: locking occurs when you are unable to bend or straighten your knee and can be due to physically blocking the motion or by the pain that keeps you from moving it normally
• noises: painful popping, snapping, grinding, or crunching sounds are all clues of the cause

Imaging

Your healthcare provider may also order an imaging scan, like an X-ray, ultrasound, or MRI.

Differential Diagnosis

Not all knee pain points to an issue in the knee itself, while in some cases, it can be a due problem in :

• lower back
• sacroiliac joint
• hip

This is called referend pain.

Your healthcare provider may be able to identify it depending on your physical exam.

Treatment Options

Treatment depends on what is causing the pain.

It can include a combination of options that can help to relieve pain, and if possible, cure the underlying problem.

Self-care Strategies

A number of initial therapies for knee pain are simple and straightforward, and you can do them at home.

These are:

Rest: The first treatment for the most common causes of knee pain is temporary pain.

This will allow the inflammation to subside and in some cases, this is all you will need to relieve knee pain.

Ice: Using a cold gel pack or bag of ice can help decrease knee pain.

However, make sure to avoid putting ice or gel directly against your skin.

Ice only for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, several times a day.

Support: Supports like taping, braces, splints, wraps, straps, or casts can help, depending on the diagnosis.

Physical Therapy

With the help of physical therapy, it can be helpful, especially in the case of orthopedic conditions.

A physical therapist may use techniques to:

• increase strength
• improve mobility
• get you back on your pre0injury level

Medications

These can help to alleviate pain, and in some cases, they can help treat the underlying problem, as well.

NSAIDs: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications can help with knee pain and treat conditions from arthritis, bursitis, and tendonitis.

Injections: For ongoing pain and swelling despite self-care, you may need injections of cortisone.

It is a powerful anti-inflammatory and is especially against knee OA.

Other Medications: Some other medications may help with certain diagnoses.

These include:

• disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs for RA
• antibiotics for infection
• steroids for gout

Complementary and Alternative Therapies

A number of mind-body therapies can help and are acupuncture, yoga, and tai chi.

However, these are especially common for knee osteoarthritis.

Surgery

You may need surgery for a specific diagnosis. These are:

• certain ligament injuries or knee dislocations
• certain knee fractures
• infected knee joints that need surgical drainage
• some advanced cases of knee osteoarthritis

Prevention Tips

You can take certain steps to prevent knee injuries so stop pain from getting worse. These are:

Losing weight, in case you are overweight, or obese

Strengthening and stretching your quadriceps and hamstrings muscles

Low-impact aerobic exercises to help strengthen muscles without putting stress on your knees, like swimming, cycling

Wearing knee pads if your knee a lot a world

Make sure to seek medical advice or see a health care provider after knee pain starts to keep it from becoming a bigger issue.

Summary

A number of medical conditions and injuries can cause knee pain ranging from arthritis to dislocations, fractures, and bone tumors.

Based on the diagnosis, symptoms, and triggers, your doctor can advise a treatment plan. It can be self-care strategies, medications,  physical therapy, surgery, and mind-body treatment, however, you can prevent knee pain by staying active, maintaining a healthy weight, and protecting your joints from overuse.