Knee pain, such as arthritis, may be caused by a sudden injury, an overuse injury, or an underlying condition. Depending on the cause, care can differ. Knee injury symptoms can include discomfort, swelling, and stiffness.
Causes of Knee pain
For your joints and the rest of the body, being healthy is one of the best things you can do. But injuries can happen, and the knees are sometimes involved.
Sprained ligaments, meniscus tears, tendinitis, and runner’s knee are some of the more common issues. It can flare up now and then or hurt all the time if you have an old knee injury that wasn’t correctly handled.
Knee joint pain may also cause many other things, such as:
Bursitis
A bursa is a sac that carries a small volume of fluid over the joint that is under the skin. When the joint moves, it helps avoid friction. The bursa on top of your kneecap may be irritated by overuse, falls, or repetitive bending and kneeling. That leads to swelling and pain. This is considered prepatellar bursitis by physicians. You can even hear it called the ” knee of the preacher.”
Dislocated kneecap
This means that it causes knee pain and swelling, and the kneecap slips out of place. This could be called “patellar dislocation” by your doctor.
IT (iliotibial) band syndrome
A piece of hard tissue that stretches from your hip down to the outer part of your knee is the iliotibial (IT) band. When you overdo activity, over time, it can become inflamed. On the outer side of the knee, that causes pain. When going downhill, it’s popular amongst runners.
Meniscal tear
A knee injury can often cause the cartilage to tear. In the joint, these rough edges can get stuck, which causes pain and swelling. When they are involved, people will often have the feeling of “catching” in the joint.
Osgood-Schlatter disease
When you are young, this disorder develops when there are already differences in the bones and other parts of the knee. A painful bump may be caused under the knee, where a tendon from the kneecap attaches to the shin. This region is also damaged by overdoing exercise, and irritation at a point on the bottom of your knee called the tibial tubercle. Over time, the ache will come and go. This is particularly common for teenage boys and girls.
Osteoarthritis
This is arthritis “wear and tear” type. After 50, it is the leading cause of knee pain. When you’re busy, this condition causes the knee joint to ache or swell. Early in the day, joints affected by osteoarthritis can also be rigid.
