Saturday, June 29, 2013

Chronic Knee Pain - Cause, Treatment and Prevention


The knee is a pretty important body part, a point I am sure most of us can agree on, however If you are unfortunate enough to suffer from chronic knee pain you can take solace in the fact that you are not alone as this is a problem that affects thousands of people worldwide. Chronic knee pain refers to pain in the knee that develops and worsens over time. There are various causes of chronic knee pain and the older one gets the greater the chances of developing any of these problems. The causes of chronic knee pain can usually be attributed to two things excessive tension/strain on the knees and diseases.

To understand the causes of chronic knee pain one must first have a basic knowledge of the structure of the knee. This may not be the way your doctor may describe it, but to be honest I don't understand half the terms my doctor uses anyway, so here it is in layman terms; the knee is a body joint made up of bones, tendons, ligaments, thickened cartilage referred to as meniscus and fluid filled sacs known as bursae. Serious damage to any of the aforementioned structures can result in chronic knee pain.

The most common Injuries that results from applying too much tension/straining on the knees include ligament injury, Meniscus tear and tendinitis. Ligament injury and tendinitis can more often than not be treated by resting the leg, soaking the affected area in with warm water, and by applying ice packs and anti inflammatory medicine. A meniscus tear is a more serious issue and will require an x-ray to detect and minor surgery to correct.

The most common disease that results in chronic knee pain is arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout and osteoarthritis to be specific. Rheumatoid arthritis and gout results in inflammation, and when these occur it usually results in an accumulation of fluids causing a cyst at the back of the knee, which causes chronic pain in that area. Osteoarthritis is non inflammatory but causes the cartilage of the knee to degenerate.

Other disease that affect the knee are lupus which is a connective tissue disorder and Bursitis which interestingly can be linked back to increased tension on the knees cause by excessive kneeling or overuse. Inflammation causes from these diseases can be treated with anti-inflammatory medication, and the pain if not too severe can usually be controlled by an aspirin. If symptoms persist then it is highly recommended that one visit a physician.

Growing up I was always told that prevention is better than cure thus I would like to share some simple steps that can help in avoiding some injuries that result in chronic knee pain. These are as follows:

• Try and control body weight as the more weight the knee as to support the greater the tension it is burdened with
• When taking on new activity do so in small gradually progressive step, for example if one is thinking of taking up jogging, try power walking then slowly ease into jogging
• Wearing footwear that is comfortable and offer some leg support especially when doing physical activities that requires extensive periods standing.
Having chronic knee problems can greatly affect one's quality of life as it can often deprive us of the simple every day things we find joy in like playing with one's children and grandchildren; however with the power of knowledge we can learn to control this problem and slowly take back our lives one step at a time.

No comments:

Post a Comment