The main purpose of the knee joint is to ensure the normal motor activity of the lower limbs and to achieve a stable position of the torso. In this case, this part of the body is assigned the most important role - participation in the processes of bending and stretching the limbs.
Despite the complex structure and sufficient strength of this joint, it can be subject to injuries, thermal influences, physical overload, various complications due to chronic infectious processes and, as a result, serious inflammatory processes with an increased likelihood of limitingmovements and accumulation. of the exudate. To prevent such unwanted manifestations, it is recommended to immediately contact a qualified specialist for a complete diagnosis and the development of a competent treatment plan.
The knee is the most complex and largest joint in the human body.
Every day, a serious load is placed on the knee joint. It is responsible for the process of bending and extending the lower limbs, supports the weight of a person and ensures his stable position. It is the knee that allows us to walk, jump, run, sit and turn.
The ability to perform these actions is provided by the following components:
- Tendons;
- bones;
- Jump;
- Ligaments and muscles.
This explains why pain in the knee joint can occur in people of any age group. We can talk about effective treatment and complete recovery only after we find out the cause of the disease.
Reasons why the knees hurt
So, the knee joint has an important role in the human body: it is responsible for the motor activity of the leg, keeps the body in a stable position and supports the weight of a person. Moreover, the knee has a complex structure, represented by several interconnected elements.
If a person has knee pain and is trying to find a solution on what to do, first of all it is necessary to find out the factors that cause the discomfort. As a rule, the causes of the disease are the same for all situations.
The risk factors are identical in almost all cases: musculofascial dysfunction. This leads to significant tension, which causes compression and destruction of the cartilage. As a result, a person begins to experience unpleasant sensations, signaling damage to the knee joint, and begins to look for a way to eliminate the pathological process.
The injury
If you don't know what to do when your knees hurt, pay attention - the reasons may lie in joint damage. This is the part of the body that is injured more often than others. As a result, joint dysfunction appears, which is accompanied by pain.
Such discomfort may be due to ligament damage. Representatives of professional sports activities are more often susceptible to injuries. Also, pain and problems with the ligaments can appear in people who do not follow the running technique. Often, knee injury occurs as a result of being hit by a ball - during a football game.
It should be noted that such injuries occur quite often. Moreover, discomfort can occur not only during an exacerbation, but also after it.
In case of a fracture, some bones can be destroyed immediately. More often than others, this happens in elderly patients and people susceptible to degenerative pathologies.
In case of severe joint damage, operations, physiotherapeutic procedures and exercise therapy are performed.
bursitis
The main purpose of the joint capsule is to ensure easy gliding of the ligaments and improve the functioning of the knee joint itself. Chronic injuries and sudden shocks can provoke damage and cause inflammation.
The presence of bursitis is indicated by the following signs: swelling, pain, limitation of motor activity, increased temperature in the knee joint.
If your knees hurt a lot, to understand what to do and how to treat this disease, you must first make a complete diagnosis. Only an individual approach to the problem will allow you to draw up the right treatment plan and choose effective medications with an anti-inflammatory effect. You should also adhere to a rest regime for the knee joint.
In advanced forms of bursitis, they use more serious measures - surgical interventions and special injections are performed.
deployments
We are talking about a displacement of the knee cap from its normal position, which is also accompanied by pain of increased intensity.
In this case, only an experienced specialist can answer the question of what to do if there is pain under the knee - after a thorough diagnosis and examination.
In order to identify fractures and draw up the appropriate treatment plan, they turn to x-ray examination. In advanced situations, surgical intervention is performed.
Often a dislocation of the knee joint can cause pain. This is a fairly serious injury that occurs after a strong impact.
Degenerative disorders
One of the common pathologies associated with degenerative changes in tissues is osteoarthritis. In this case, the cartilage decreases in size, which is accompanied by impaired motor activity of the joint and pain. As a rule, such pathological processes are caused by age-related changes in the body that occur in people aged 55-65 years.
Despite the irreversibility of degenerative changes, there are treatments that can cope with the discomfort and help improve the quality of life. In advanced forms of the disease, the implant is placed surgically.
Autoimmune diseases
We are talking about inflammatory processes affecting the joints. They are characterized by malfunctions of the immune system, as a result of which it begins to perceive its own tissues as foreign and destroy them.
This process is accompanied by the following undesirable manifestations: swelling, pain and degenerative changes in the joints, erosive lesions of the bone tissue.
Taking into account the clinical picture, the specialist will tell you what exactly you should do when your knee joints hurt. As a rule, the patient is recommended to take the following drugs:
- Anti-inflammatory medications;
- Steroid hormones;
- Antirheumatic drugs and biological agents;
- Analgesics and others.
Salt deposition in joints
This is a metabolic disease associated with the deposition of uric acid salts in body tissues. The main symptoms of gout are: severe swelling, limited physical activity and severe pain. To break down urate crystals, special medications are prescribed, as well as anti-inflammatory drugs.
Infectious processes
Even a small scratch in the knee area can contribute to the spread of the infectious process in nearby tissues and organs, including the joint area.
In people with a weakened immune system, this poses a real danger to the body. That is, any damage to the skin can worsen the condition of such a patient.
What not to do when your knees hurt?
Regardless of the reason why your knees hurt, here's what you shouldn't do to avoid making the condition worse:
- Avoid knee injury;
- Avoid foods that contribute to weight gain (fried and fatty foods, sweets, foods rich in salt, potatoes, sweet carbonated drinks, fast foods);
- Avoid any excessive physical activity related to sports;
- If your knees hurt and you don't know what to do with such discomfort, as the reviews show, it is better to give up addictions (excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages and smoking);
- Avoid wearing tight shoes, avoid high heels;
- Minimize the likelihood of stressful situations;
- Ensure healthy and complete sleep;
- Avoid staying in one position for a long time.
In which cases is a visit to the doctor required?
There is no need for medical intervention if pain in the knee area is caused by minor skin damage, minor injuries or joint deformities. In such situations, self-medication is allowed.
With more severe processes, there is an urgent need to visit a specialist. First of all, this is due to the possibility of damage to the joint capsule, which can facilitate the penetration of pathogenic bacteria into the body.
If the consequences of the damage are not eliminated in time, the functionality of the joint may be lost. It is necessary to consult a doctor in the following situations:
- Your knees hurt a lot and you have no idea what to do, what to do;
- Pain syndrome with increased intensity does not go away for several days;
- There is swelling, redness and temperature in the joint area;
- Increase in body temperature;
- Decreased motor activity, bruising.
Experienced specialists perform a complete diagnosis of the condition of the knee joint, draw up a detailed treatment plan and choose the most effective treatment even for the most advanced pathologies.
Treatment of knee pain
Often people do not know what exactly to do when the knee joints hurt and try to cope with the discomfort themselves. Unfortunately, the uncontrolled use of medications and the use of special ointments can give the opposite result.
To quickly relieve pain, an integrated approach is required. Within it, not only medications are used, but physiotherapeutic procedures are performed and special orthopedic tools are used. These include braces and knee braces, which help prevent the likelihood of relapse and ensure a faster recovery period.
Use of medications
To relieve pain, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroid hormones, vasodilators and chondroprotectors are prescribed. Specialists prescribe painkillers with extreme caution, as they do not allow them to determine the real condition of the knee joint. Next we will talk about the drugs used in more detail:
- NSAIDs.Since the elimination of the inflammatory process and pain is the main task for discomfort in the knee area, doctors mainly recommend the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. For this purpose, they use the help of special tablets and ointments. If the pain becomes excruciating, patients are given intramuscular injections. If your knees hurt a little, in this case, when you ask: "What should I do? ", any doctor will advise you to use ointment. Often, when the knee joint is injured, products containing glycosaminoglycan are used. On the other hand, to eliminate swelling, they use compresses with dimethyl sulfoxide;
- Chondroprotectors.Whether your knees hurt after running or after a long walk, or against the background of other pathologies, only an experienced doctor can advise what exactly you should do. However, the general recommendation for all patients to relieve pain is to take drugs with chondroitin and glucosamine. Thanks to their use, it is possible to accelerate the process of cartilage tissue restoration, prevent oxidative stress and ensure the growth of healthy cartilage cells. In addition, chondroprotectors contribute to a faster rehabilitation period after injury, minimize the likelihood of serious consequences and cause almost no side effects. At the same time, experts recommend taking complexes with a high content of minerals and vitamins;
- Antispasmodics and vasodilators.They help improve tissue supply, and also help restore connective tissue and eliminate swelling. In the presence of chronic pathological processes, for example, if your knee hurts for a whole year, the discomfort returns and you don't know what to do, you may need to take additional antibacterial therapy and immunobiological drugs.
Physiotherapy procedures
If you are wondering what to do if your knee hurts when you walk, or if the discomfort is chronic, any experienced specialist will suggest that you undergo physiotherapy treatment. With its help, it is possible to increase the effectiveness of the use of drugs, as well as ensure the delivery of drugs to the deepest subcutaneous layers.
Physiotherapy procedures help to improve blood flow, eliminate pain and reduce the source of inflammation, as well as normalize motor activity and ensure the removal of purulent exudate.
Even if your child's knees hurt and you're trying to figure out what to do, the following physical therapy options will be most effective:
- The impact on the body of a magnetic field;
- Laser therapy;
- Exposure to electric current in combination with drug administration;
- UHF;
- Application of galvanic electric current;
- Use of therapeutic mud;
- Therapeutic effects of ultrasound;
- Massage treatments;
- Paraffin therapy;
- amplipulse therapy;
- Medicine with medicinal leeches;
- Acupuncture;
- Cold treatment;
- Diadynamic therapy and other similar procedures.
The duration of a physiotherapy course usually reaches 7-10 procedures. However, a prerequisite before carrying out treatment measures is consultation with a specialist.
UVT for knee pain
The UVT method is widely demanded in the elimination of pathologies of the musculoskeletal system. It is based on short-term exposure to low-frequency acoustic waves in the affected joint.
The powerful analgesic effect during shock wave therapy sessions is achieved through the following processes:
- Improving blood circulation;
- Development of new blood vessels;
- Improved metabolism.
It should be noted that under the influence of shock waves, a decrease in fibrotic processes in the tissues inside the knee joint is observed.
The greatest efficiency is achieved by using the UVT method for the deposition of calcium phosphate crystals in the tendons. The technique is characterized by increased safety and practically no side effects.
UVT specialists will clearly determine the number of treatment sessions and their duration, as well as give valuable recommendations regarding the implementation of other restorative procedures.
The need to perform a birth
If there is significant swelling, specialists remove the purulent contents that limit the normal functioning and supply of the joint. To drain the exudate, a puncture is performed using a syringe under the influence of anesthetics.
If the desired result is not achieved during physiotherapeutic procedures and the use of medications, the doctor injects hyaluronic acid into the knee joint or performs a periarticular anesthetic block. When purulent inflammatory processes are detected, drug treatment is combined with the procedure of washing the knee joint with a medicinal solution (lavage).
Surgical intervention for pain in the knee area is performed in rare cases, more often in advanced situations.
Exercise therapy for knee pain
Often, when you experience knee pain, experts recommend performing therapeutic exercises. By regularly performing simple exercises, the patient can quickly restore the motor activity of the joint, relieve pain and provide optimal load on this part of the body. These beneficial effects are achieved by improving muscle tone. The desired result can be achieved after 8-10 sessions. It is important to avoid any sudden movements during physical therapy.
The following exercises are suitable for doing at home:
- The patient takes a "lying" position and stretches his legs forward. Then, he performs alternate flexion and extension of the fingers of the lower extremities;
- While in the "lying" position, you should straighten your legs. After that, the patient turns his legs in different directions, trying to bring them closer to the floor;
- In the "lying" position and with legs outstretched, the patient should try to extend the toes towards the knee joint;
- The patient assumes the "lying" position. Then I put both hands under the knee, trying to slowly bend the limb. In this case, the knee should rise smoothly towards the chest;
- While in the "lying" position, it is necessary to make leg movements similar to riding a bicycle.
Preventive measures
Questions like: "What should you do if the nerve in your knee hurts? ", or "What measures should you take if your knees hurt after a long walk? " will lose their importance if you follow simple preventive measures. This includes:
- Elimination of infectious processes and conditions after knee injury should be carried out under the supervision of a professional specialist;
- It is mandatory to eliminate pathological processes of a chronic or hereditary nature (gout, diabetes, tonsils);
- Maintain a normal weight by eliminating excessively sweet, salty and fatty foods from the diet, as well as alcoholic beverages;
- Engage in moderate exercise;
- Once a year, take chondroprotectors and undergo an examination by a specialist;
- Follow the rules of healthy sleep;
- Take about 2-3 liters of still water per day;
- Eliminating any possibility of hypothermia;
- Wear only comfortable shoes and clothes;
- Avoid staying in one position for a long time.