The Most Common Causes Of Knee Pain

One of the most common types of joint pain, and one that almost everyone has to deal with at some point in their lives, is knee pain. It’s a complaint that physiotherapists and orthopaedic specialists see all the time. However, just because knee pain is common does not mean that all of the causes of knee pain are the same – far from it, in fact.

Your knees are one of the most-used joints in your entire body, and are responsible for bearing a great deal of the body’s weight as you move around. No matter what kind of lifestyle you have, whether you are very physically active and athletic or almost entirely sedentary, your knees are doing a lot of work every single day. Also, as a fairly complex intersection of bone, joint, ligament, and muscle, there are many different ways your knee can become injured or sore.

Because there are so many different causes of knee pain, there is a correspondingly large number of different treatment options available. Each different type of knee pain requires a different course of treatment; a runner who has injured their knee training, for instance, will need a very different treatment than someone suffering from arthritis, for example.

Some of the most common causes of knee pain are:

• Ligament Injuries. There are three primary types of ligament injuries that afflict the knee: anterior cruciate ligament or ACL (most commonly seen in athletes), medial collateral ligament or MCL, and posterior cruciate ligament or PCL. These injuries commonly require surgery to reattach the ligament and then a course of physiotherapy.
• Arthritis. Knee arthritis is also known as osteoarthritis and is a wear-and-tear injury that results from the cartilage in the knee being worn away.
• Cartilage Injuries. Including meniscal tears and other kinds of injuries to the cartilage in the knee, these are seen in patients of all ages and activity levels.
• Patellar Tendonitis. This involves the large tendon over the front of the knee.
• Dislocated Kneecap. Once the dislocated kneecap is put back in place, there may be lingering pain associated with the original injury.
• Prepateller Bursitis. This swelling and pain at the top of the knee is usually found in people whose work requires them to kneel for extended periods of time.
• Osgoode-Schlatter Disease, Osteochondritis Dissecans and Chondomalacia Patella. These three types of knee issues are found in adolescent patients and involve various irritations in the knee associated with sudden growth spurts, like softening cartilage or irritation in the growth plate.

Each of these different causes of knee pain are totally different from each other. An injury to a ligament, for example, might call for a combination of surgery and physiotherapy, whereas knee pain that is caused via arthritis might need to be controlled with medication. Not all knee pain is created equally at all!

Whatever the cause of your knee pain, it is important to get an an accurate diagnosis of exactly what is causing trouble for you. Seeking out a diagnosis of exactly what is causing your knee to be painful or sore ensures that you and your doctor can choose the correct, most targeted treatment possible and get you back on your feet sooner. Your knees are an incredibly important join in your body, and something that you use every single day. Getting the right diagnosis and the right treatment not only means being healthy and pain-free, but going about your life and accomplishing your goals as easily and comfortably as possible.