Does your knee make funny noises every time you bend it? Or maybe you have avoided the stairs for years out of fear that your knees will hurt afterwards.
No matter what struggles you are facing when it comes to your knees, there are solutions available to help you address your knee pain. But first, let’s start by understanding your knee pain a little better.
What is knee pain?
Knee pain is any form of discomfort or aching that occurs surrounding the knee joint.
Your knee pain could be located in:
- The front of the knee
- The back of the knee
- The inside of the knee
- The outside of the knee
What are the symptoms of knee pain?
Knee pain is most commonly described as a deep aching sensation.
If you are experiencing swelling at the knee joint, you may experience a sensation of fullness or stiffness in the joint.
And sometimes you may experience a sharp pinpoint pain when moving your knee through a certain range of motion.
What are the causes of knee pain?
Knee pain can occur as a natural part of aging as we lose the cartilage in our knees.
It can also occur as a result of trauma. In the case of an ACL tear, there is often some kind of force that forces the knee to collapse inwards.
Knee pain may also be secondary to a lack of mobility in other regions of your body. For example, if your hip or ankle exhibit mobility restrictions, your knee joint may be trying to pick up the slack and get over stressed.
Potential Diagnoses
Knee pain can be secondary to a plethora of potential diagnoses, but here are a few of the most common diagnoses:
- Patellofemoral pain
- Knee osteoarthritis
- Meniscus tear
- ACL, PCL, MCL, or LCL tear
- Patellar tendinitis
- Hamstring or Calf strain
A thorough assessment is critical to achieve an accurate diagnosis when it comes to your knee pain.
Did you know?
Did you know that when you walk, you are placing 2 to 3 times the force of your body weight through your knee joint?
And when you run, this number jumps up to 4.7 to 6.9 times your body weight!
Your knee joint undergoes a lot of stress with just daily movement, which is why it’s so important that you take the time to take care of this joint when it starts to give you trouble.
