Knee is a very complex joint and its main function is bending, bearing weight of whole body along with hips and ankle. Knee pain is a very common musculoskeletal complaint and usually not a sign of any serious condition. People of all ages experience this knee pain atleast once in their lifetime. There are so many reasons of knee pain but these are the most common reasons.
Age factor/ Age related pain
Injury related pain
Fractures
Foot alignment
Body weight
Age factor/ Age related pain-
Aging is a very natural process in every humans life and this aging causes lots of changes in the body that includes our knee joint also. The wearing and tearing process starts by the age of 40, that cause knee pain and swelling can also be noticed. Because, the ability of self healing of the body get reduced as people ages. The very common and major age related condition is mainly Osteoarthritis, in this condition the smooth, slippery cartilage that covers the ends of the bones slowly starts wearing off, instead of gliding over one another, bones starts rubbing over each other. It leads to swelling, stiffness and pain. This condition can not be reversed but can be managed by medication, exercises, reducing body weight.
Injury related pain-
Knee injuries include sprain, strain,tear, overuse injury , as for example; meniscal tear , ligament injury / sprain. That leads to inflammation, swelling, stiffness,pain, instability, tenderness, problem in weight bearing, problem in bending knee, locking of knee, bruising etc. Ligament and meniscus are the structures present in the knee joint that provides stabilization to the knee while doing any activities. Injury of these structures happens due to some vigorous activity , during any sports, any wrong movement or twisting of the knee. Overuse and over activity of the knee can cause bursitis, chondromalacia patella etc.
Treatment of the knee injury depends upon the part which is affected and the extent of the damage. Some injuries like simple sparin can be managed at home by following RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation).
But in severe injury it can be treated by taking medicines , immobilization, doing stretching and strengthening exercises. According to the condition doctor may advise for the surgery also.
Foot alignment / Foot posture –
Foot is the foundation of our body, if there will be any mis-alignment in the feet it will cause various changes in the structure of whole body. That will cause pain and discomfort. Either it will be a flat foot (lower arches) or club foot (high arches) it will create mis-alignment in the knee joint also. The majority of knee pain cases are directly related to poor foot posture. The mis-alignment in the bones of the foot will cause twisting at the knee joint that will cause muscle imbalance around the knee joint which will cause the kneecap mal-tracking resulting in knee pain. The condition which commonly caused because of this mal-tracking is patella-femoral syndrome.
So, this is very important to keep an eye on your feet. An ideal foot posture evenly distributes the weight across the feet and leg bones. The arches of the foot is important for the proper functioning of the feet and is responsible for many-many sore knees.
Now, the main question is , how can we can correct the foot posture? Orthotics can do this by supporting the foot arches in its natural posture. What are orthotics, they are insoles that cab be designed according to the feet and they provide proper alignment and support to the feet. They support the arch where it is not supporting itself and give balance to the body.
Body weight-
Our knees are the strongest and the biggest joint in our body. We use them throughtout the day to sit , stand , walk , jump and bend. During a recent study by British doctors on the relation between the weight gain and knee joint pain, it was seen that people with higher BMI are more prone to develop knee pain or suffer from knee pain. Knees are the shock absorbers of the body and if we put extra kilos on our knee then it must be the first one to feel the impact. More weight more strain on the joints and cartilage which protect the ends of the bone and leads to the condition like osteoarthritis.
Reducing the body weight will really help the joints. Losing a few pound can go a longer way towards reducing the pressure on the knees and protecting them. Changing the diet and increasing the physical activity has many health benefits that will help to shed the weight.
Fractures –
Fracture is also a major cause of knee pain. Mainly happens due to abnormal force like direct blow on the knee, any accident or any fall directly over the knee joint on concrete, the kneecap get fractured and cause severe pain in the knee joint, immediate bruising, muscle spasm, not able to bear weight, piece of bone or tissues or any loose body or dislocation get caught in the joint and may interfere with the joint movement and can be the reason of pain.
For this need to meet to doctor immediately and they will suggest what to do next, if the fracture is stable then it will heal by itself. The doctor will advised for the surgery when the fracture is unstable.
