Chronic knee pain is the reoccurring/long term pain, inflammation or sensitivity in one or both of your knees. This is pain that stops people doing a lot of activities in their everyday lives.
There are cases of knee pain that can be caused by an injury or accident and be just as painful but can heal without treatment over time. Chronic knee pain very rarely goes away without treatment.
What causes Chronic Knee Pain?
There are many physical conditions or diseases that can be the cause of knee pain. These include:
Torn Ligament – A tear that occurs in one or more of the four ligaments in the knee, the most common being the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament).
Meniscus Tear –A tear in your cartilage in the knee.
Dislocation – The dislocation of the kneecap, commonly the result of trauma.
Bursitis – The inflammation caused by the repeated injury or overuse of the knee.
Chondromalacia Patella – The torn cartilage under the kneecap.
Tendinopathy – The pain in the front of the knee, that can be made worse when using in everyday life – walking uphill (Incline) or climbing stairs.
Gout – Arthritis which is caused from the build-up of uric acid.
Baker’s Cist – The build-up of synovial fluid behind the knee.
Osteoarthritis- The inflammation, pain and joint destruction caused by the deterioration of the joint.
Rheumatoid Arthritis – Chronic autoimmune inflammatory disorder which causes painful swelling and potentially leading to joint deformity and bone erosion.
It is highly recommended to see a physiotherapist or GP to diagnose your knee pain if you haven’t already done so. The longer chronic knee pain is left without treatment the higher the risk of irreversible damage.
What are the symptoms of Chronic Knee Pain?
Symptoms vary for each person, chronic knee pain often occurs on the form of a constant ache, a sharp shooting pain when knee is in use and a dull burning discomfort. You might experience chronic swelling and pain when your knee is touched.
Chronic Knee Pain can be treated in four ways depending on the severity of the diagnosis. These are:
· Physiotherapy
· Medication
· Surgery
· Injections
How to prevent Chronic Knee Pain
Some causes of chronic knee pain can be prevented, but not in all cases.
If your knee pain is worsened from overuse, there are approaches that can be implemented in your life to help treat the pain. These include:
Always Warm Up Before and After Any Kind of Exercise. Focus on stretching your hamstrings and quadriceps.
Low Impact Sports/Exercises – Try to give your knee a break by mixing up your activities from (for example changing running to swimming) this will take a lot of strain off your knee, giving it time to rest.
Weight Loss – For every pound you weigh, your knee takes four pounds of pressure on every impact. The less you weigh the less stress from impact exercises your knee(s) will endure.
Correct Running Shoes – Make sure when you are running you have the correct footwear as the wrong shoes can cause significant more damage your knees as there is less cushion on impact.
Stick to Paved Areas – This gives you the best opportunity to avoid damaging your knee(s) even further when running.
Recovery
Strength training on the affected knee can significantly reduce the risk of the pain returning. This is because strength training prepares you and your knee for correct alignment and form when exercising, strengthening the muscles around the knee and eliminating old habits of lost form causing the pain/injury in the first place.
At Hove Physio we not only focus on the recovery of injuries we look at the prevention of the same injury happening in the future.
If you are suffering from chronic knee pain or are keen to find out more about the prevention of the injury reoccurring, get in touch with one of our highly trained physiotherapists to see what the next steps would be for your rehabilitation.
01273 667826 admin@hovephysio.com
