Knee Pain

• Overview
• Causes
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis
• Treatment

Overview

Knee pain is a relatively common health disorder that can affect individuals of any age. However, it is a more common complaint of the elderly.

Symptoms

Knee pain is a symptom in itself, but some of the following other symptoms may be associated with it:

• Swelling and stiffness of knee joint
• Redness
• Warmth of joint
• Weak joint
• Popping or crunching noises from the joint
• Inability to fully straighten the knee
• Fever

Causes

There are a vast range of problems that can lead to knee pain. Some of them are listed below:

• Injuries (Anterior cruciate ligament injury, fractures, torn meniscus, knee bursitis, patellar tendinitis)
• Mechanical problems (loose body, iliotibial band syndrome, dislocated kneecap, hip or foot pain)
• Arthritis (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, pseudogout, septic arthritis)

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of the underlying cause of the this health condition is made by:

• Physical examination of the knee
• X-ray knee
• CT scan knee
• Ultrasound knee
• MRI knee
• Blood tests for infection

Treatment

Treatment of knee pain differs according to the cause of the pain:

• Analgesics
• Physiotherapy
• Medicine injections (Corticosteroids, Hyaluronic acid, Platelet-rich plasma)
• Surgery (Arthroscopic surgery, Partial knee replacement, Total knee replacement)