Knee Pain Causes, Knee Pain Treatment
With knee pain, both elderly people suffering from arthritis and athletes who complain of pain after physical exertion and even mothers with children, whose knees often hurt at night, turn to doctors with pain. To find out the cause of knee pain, you need to undergo an examination and this is not entirely simple.
Knee pain: causes
Knee pain, causes which you need to know can arise in almost all of us. The main thing is to understand in which part of the knee the pain is present. Since the symptoms of different diseases are similar and successful knee pain treatment depends on the correctly identified cause.
Knee pain, which can have a variety of causes, may be associated with:
broken or damaged bone;
fracture or displacement of the kneecap (pain when moving and flexing);
a tear or tear in the meniscus (pain is present from the back of the knee);
inflammation or stretching of tendons or ligaments (pain when flexing and extending).
If you do not know who to contact with knee pain, then in the first stages, a traumatologist, orthopedist, neuropathologist, rheumatologist or osteopath can help you. The latter is consulted if all previous doctors did not agree on the diagnosis and cannot prescribe treatment. Here pain in the knees, the reasons for which were never named, could lie in flat feet, herniated intervertebral discs, varicose veins or an injury of the hip joint. Therefore, if you come back with pain in your knees, the causes of which you do not yet know, in an advanced stage, then you will most likely need surgery.
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Knee pain is often caused by injury. When playing active sports, you could have stumbled or made the wrong movement, and your patella was displaced, the meniscus was damaged, or something else.
Also, knee pain, the causes of which you want to know, could be the result of a chronic joint disease, for example, arthrosis of the knee joint.
Knee pain: treatment
Knee pain, which can be treated at home, should immediately draw your attention to the possible reason why you are experiencing this problem.
Here are some solutions to relieve knee pain, but treatment should always be done under professional medical supervision.
If you already know what the cause of knee pain is, and it is related to physical activity, you are advised to stop playing sports or at least take a break. When resting, a small pillow or roller should be placed under the knee.
Home-treated knee pain can also be relieved with ice. Apply ice or something cold to relieve pain and swelling. It is recommended to apply such cold compresses for 10-20 minutes several times a day.
If knee pains appear after injury, the heat effect on the joint must be abandoned for 2 days. So it is not recommended to take a hot shower or bath, apply hot compresses, you need to stop drinking alcohol.
If after 2 days the swelling and pain in the knees subsided, start applying warm compresses to the sore spot and doing small exercises to restore the flexibility of the joint.
If you put an elastic bandage on the sore knee, the swelling can subside. But be careful when applying the bandage. Overtightening the damaged area can lead to more swelling. If you feel numbness, increased pain, tingling, or swelling below the bandage while bandaging the knee, loosen the bandage immediately.
When you sit down or lie down, lift the affected knee to or above the level of your heart to avoid swelling.
The following medicines can reduce knee pain: Panadol, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Aspirin, or Naproxen. All of these drugs are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. But keep in mind that Aspirin and Ibuprofen should not be taken on the first day after injury, this can lead to blood thinning and subcutaneous bleeding.
Knee pain, the causes and treatment of which can only be determined by a doctor, should not be tolerated, but immediately seek help from a hospital, clinic, or emergency room. This will help you avoid potential complications and speed up your recovery and return to your normal daily life.