Chronic Knee Pain
Chronic knee pain is long-term condition characterized pain, inflammation, or sensitivity in one or both knees. The symptoms of chronic knee pain vary depending on the cause of chronic knee pain. There are many causes of chronic knee pain therefore there are many treatments.
Common Causes of Chronic Knee Pain
Acute knee pain is different from chronic knee pain. Acute injury is usually caused by injury and accident and experience by most people. This kind of pain goes away with time unlike chronic knee pain that doesn’t go without treatment. Chronic knee pain is also usually caused by several causes or physical conditions not just one injury. Physical conditions or diseases can cause chronic knee pain. These include:
- Osteoarthritis: characterized by pain, swelling, and destruction of the joint usually caused by degeneration and deterioration of the joint
- Bursitis: characterized by swelling caused by frequent overuse or injury of the knee. This is common by athletes
- Tendinitis: characterized by pain in the front of the knee that worsens when doing any physical activity
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): This is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disorder that results in painful inflammation and can eventually lead to joint deformity and bone erosion
- Chondromalacia Patella: caused by damaged cartilage under the kneecap
- Meniscus tear: a tear in one or more of the cartilage in the knee
- Gout: arthritis caused by the upsurge of uric acid
- Baker’s Cyst: caused by an upsurge of synovial fluid (fluid that greases the joint) behind the knee
- Dislocation: dislocation of the kneecap caused by trauma to the knee
- Ligament tear: tear in one of the four ligaments in the knee. The most commonly injured area is the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)
- Bone cancers caused by Osteosarcoma which usually occurs in the knee
Factors that may worsen chronic knee pain include:
- injuries that disrupt the structure of the knee and cause bleeding and inflammation
- muscle sprains and strains
- not warming up or cooling down before or after physical activity
- bad posture and form when doing physical activity
- improperly stretching of the muscles
- overuse
- infection
Risk for Chronic Knee pain
- Obesity
- Age
- Injuries or trauma
- Sport activities or physical exercise
Symptoms of Chronic Knee Pain
Symptoms differ from person to person and depend on the cause of the chronic knee pain. They include:
- continuous ache
- sharp, shooting pain when used
- dull burning soreness
- sensitive to touch
Prevention of Chronic Knee Pain
Acute knee pain can be prevented, however, chronic knee pain can’t. All hope is not lost; you can make some lifestyle changes to avoid the worsening of chronic knee pain. They include:
- Warm-up exercise: Always stretch your quadriceps and hamstrings before and after exercising.
- Low-impact exercises: Since overuse can worsen chronic knee pain, you can try out some low-impact exercises like cycling and swimming to avoid straining your knees.
- Weight Loss: this is advisable in order to decrease the amount of weight on the knee
- Get knee support: Knee support can help treat knee or gait problems that may cause additional problem to knee pain.
- Replace your running shoes: Always ensure your running shoes have proper cushioning and are still in good condition
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