Knee Pain - Symptoms, causes and treatment

Knee hurts or knee pain couldcaused by an injury to the knee.Knee pain is often accompanied by complaints that the knee feels stiff, difficult to straighten, or experiences swelling. 

Knee pain is usually more severe when the knee is moved. This condition can make it difficult for sufferers of knee pain to stand up, because the knee becomes unstable and unable to support the body.

Symptom Painful Knee

Knee pain can appear immediately when a person has an injury, or it can come on gradually and get worse over time. The severity of knee pain varies, depending on the cause.

Some of the symptoms that can accompany knee pain are:

  • Knees are stiff.
  • The knee looks red, swollen, and feels warm.
  • The knee feels weak, unstable, and difficult to straighten.
  • Knees make a rattling sound ('kretek-kretek' sound).

When hcurrent to dokter

Immediately consult a doctor if symptoms of knee pain appear with the following conditions:

  • Knee pain does not improve in 3 days.
  • Unable to stand perfectly, because the knees feel unstable.
  • Knees feel weak when trying to stand or walk.
  • Knees are difficult to bend and straighten.
  • Knee pain with fever.
  • The knee appears to have changed shape.

Someone who is obese is more prone to knee pain. Consult a nutritionist about a good diet to maintain an ideal body weight.

Causes of Pain Knee

One of the causes of knee pain is injury to the knee. When the knee is injured, some of the tissues that make up the knee, such as cartilage or bone, can be disrupted. Disorders of the tissue that make up the knee due to injury can include:

  • A sprained ligament or tissue between the bones in the knee joint.
  • Knee ligament tears, for example from an anterior knee ligament injury.
  • Torn cartilage.
  • Bursitis.
  • Kneecap bone dislocation.
  • Fractures of the kneecap, femur, or shinbone.

Apart from injury, knee pain can also be caused by certain diseases, such as:

  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Gout (gout)
  • Knee infection
  • Cancer that has spread to the knee joint
  • Osgood-Schlatter disease

Given its function which is quite heavy in supporting the body's weight, the knee joint is prone to damage. Some things that can increase a person's risk of injury or disease to the knee that cause knee pain are:

  • Excess weight.
  • Have had a knee injury.
  • Have a smoking habit.
  • Have a job that requires frequent kneeling, lifting heavy objects, or engaging in strenuous physical activities, such as construction workers or sportsmen.

Diagnosis PainfulKnee

The doctor will ask about the symptoms of knee pain in detail, including when the pain appears, how severe the pain is, and whether or not you have had an injury.

The doctor will also ask if the patient has had surgery or other medical procedures on the knee. The doctor will then examine the sore knee by:

  • Look at the condition of the knee, to look for swelling, redness, or bruising around the knee.
  • Feel and feel changes in the knee, for example the skin around the knee becomes warm or abnormalities in the shape of the knee joint.
  • Move the knee, to see how much stiffness or resistance the knee moves.

After performing a knee examination, the doctor will perform a scan on the knee, for example with X-rays, ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI. Through the scan, the doctor can see the condition of the patient's knee and find out the cause of the knee pain.

The doctor will also perform blood tests if knee pain is suspected to be caused by an illness, such as an infection or gout.

Treatment Painful Knee

Treatment for knee pain depends on the cause. After knowing the cause of the patient's knee pain, the doctor can then provide the appropriate treatment. Treatment can be:

  • Drugs

    Medications aim to relieve knee pain as well as treat the cause of the pain. To relieve pain, doctors can give paracetamol or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

  • Physiotherapy

    Physiotherapy aims to train and strengthen the muscles around the knee, so that the knee joint is more stable. If needed, for example in patients osteoarthritis, the doctor will recommend the use of a knee brace (knee support) to relieve knee pain.

  • Joint injection

    Injection of medication into the knee joint is done to relieve pain. The injected substance can be a corticosteroid, hyaluronic acid, or platelet-rich plasma (PRP). Ask about the benefits and risks of injecting medication into the joint.

If the knee pain is very severe and the above treatment methods don't work to relieve the knee pain, the doctor can perform surgery, such as arthroscopy or knee replacement surgery.

To speed up the recovery of knee pain while preventing complications, there are several treatments that can be done at home, namely:

  • Apply ice to the knee to reduce inflammation and pain in the knee.
  • Minimizing movement of the knee, for example with the use of knee support.
  • Position your feet higher than your knees, for example by placing your feet on a pillow, to reduce swelling in your knees.
  • Get plenty of rest, to reduce pressure on the knee so it can recover faster.

Complications Painful Knee

Complications that arise depend on the cause of the knee pain. For example, osteoarthritishcritical It can cause damage to the knee joint and deformity of the leg.

Prevention Painful Knee

To maintain knee joint health and prevent knee injuries, the following simple steps can be taken:

  • Always warm up before exercising and stretch after you finish exercising.
  • Use shoes that fit the shape of the foot or that support the foot well when exercising.
  • Increase the intensity and frequency of exercise gradually, from light to heavy.
  • Adjusting the type and intensity of exercise to the ability and condition of the body.

To reduce stress on your knees that can cause knee pain, maintain an ideal body weight. In addition, knee pain can also be prevented by not smoking.