The human body is unique. All organs and systems in it are interconnected. Ideally, it should function without any difficulty. It can also be compared with the mechanism in which all work is established. But, as in all mechanisms, sometimes failures occur in the body. Most often it is associated with a disease of an organ. And if the unpleasant symptoms do not stop, the person starts to sound the alarm.
Pain in the knee
If a person has a sore knee on the side, from the outside, you should immediately consult a specialist. Of course, this may be a one-time situation that is not related to diseases. In the case when it becomes difficult to move around, discomfort occurs, it is recommended to pay special attention to this. Since pain can indicate many ailments and disorders. Most often, athletes complain of discomfort in the knee.
But knee disease is not only the prerogative of athletes. Complaints about such an unpleasant symptom more often began to come from office workers and housewives. This is because an improper lifestyle and inadequate nutrition weakens the body, does not allow minerals and beneficial substances to act in full measure.
How can a knee hurt?
Unpleasant sensations in the knee joint may indicate inflammatory processes, injuries and a variety of pathologies. It all depends on the nature of the pain, the condition of the tissues and bones. There may be complaints that the knee hurts on the side, from the outside, internal joint pain, discomfort from the inside and much more. Also, experts share the pain in acute and chronic. Acute lasts from a few minutes to hours, chronic - occurs in periods from calm down to amplification. How can discomfort in the knee manifest itself:
- Symptoms are local, discomfort occurs precisely in the joint.
- Characteristic acute, moderate and chronic pain.
- Often there is not an acute course of the disease. Discomfort occurs smoothly, gradually intensifying and restricting the leg in motion.
- Knee on the side from the outside hurts, it is painful to unbend after sitting.
- There are periods of remission. Symptoms disappear or occur extremely rarely.
- Unpleasant sensations intensify in the evening, when the knee joints are at rest.
- Visible external signs of the disease are knee deformity.
- In the morning, the joint does not work, the process of flexion and extension of the leg is difficult.
- In the inflammatory process, the pain is acute.
- Often there is an external swelling and redness.
- Severe crunch and pain.
- Instability of the whole organism, fear of damaging the joint even more.
This is only a small part of what can be manifested in diseases of the knee joints.
Anatomy
In order to find out why the knee hurts on the side, from the outside, it is recommended to understand the structure of this body. Basically, the cause of all the misfortunes is hidden in the knee joint. It is considered one of the most complex in the whole body. The main function of the joint is flexion and extension. In its structure, it includes many ligaments, articular bags and condyles. He, as it were, controls two huge levers - the bones of the lower extremities. Two large bones join the knee: the femur and the tibia. There is also another bone - the patella. One can only imagine what tremendous loads the knee joint is experiencing; it, like a shock absorber in a car, makes a person move smoothly and without sudden movements.
You should know that the surface of the bones that connect to each other are not the same. Between them are special crescent-shaped plates. Also in the cartilage there are many ligaments that make it possible to move the knee. The joint has a synovial bag, which performs several functions. First of all, a special fluid is formed in it that lubricates the knee. It is in it that inflammatory processes often occur.
Pain on the outside of the knee
When it hurts under the knee from the side, from the outside, there can be several reasons. It all depends on the nature and duration of the pain syndrome. The most common causes are:
- Injury to ligaments that are located on the outside. Most often occurs with stretching, while swelling is observed.
- Inflammation in the tendon. Localization of discomfort occurs under the knee and from the inside. The process of inflammation may be accompanied by clicks.
- It can also be ligament irritation, which is most often observed in athletes.
But it is recommended to remember that asking the question why the knee hurts on the side, from the outside, is best for a specialist. He will be able to correctly diagnose, make a complete diagnosis and prescribe an effective treatment.
Knee hurts on the side, from the outside, when bending
If acute pain occurs, then the person immediately begins to sound the alarm. Since the result of this can be serious consequences and disorders in the body. And if the pain occurs when bending and unbending the legs, then this, in turn, fetters the movement. And subsequently it can cause leg dysfunction. Difficulties in diagnosing the causes of this symptom is that the knee joint is complex in structure. And withstanding enormous physical exertion, it can often fail. The reason for this is its anatomical structure, which is considered one of the weakest, subject to deformation.
If the knee hurts on the side, from the outside, it is painful to unbend after sitting, this may indicate the presence of injury. And also about increased loads on the leg. It can also be osteochondropathy. The onset of the disease can occur in adolescence, when not all joints are formed. Such an age is considered transient and vulnerable due to a hormonal surge. The body begins to rebuild, reaches puberty, and all organs are finally formed. The disease is not dangerous if it is cured in time, otherwise it becomes chronic. Subsequently, in adulthood, a person encounters such a problem with prolonged and intense loads on the legs.
Pain when walking
If there are no pathological and visible sensations, but a person feels that a knee hurts on the side from the outside when walking, there may be reasons for this, such as:
- Various injuries, accompanied by the destruction of cartilage and ligaments. Also included are bruises in which there was a fall on the cup, bumps on heavy and hard objects. The first symptoms will be acute pain when walking, blood spots and bruises in the knee joint, swelling. It can also be displacements, sprains, fractures and dislocations.
- Osteochondropathy (or as experts call it, Osgood-Schlatter disease). Appears in adolescence, pain also occurs in the area under the patella.
- Stopping the blood supply to a specific area. With such a disease, a site that does not have blood supply dies. Dead cells enter the joint and the inflammatory process begins.
In the event that discomfort occurs after aerobic exercise, this may indicate diseases such as bursitis and tendonitis. It should be remembered that when a knee hurts on the side, from the outside, for a long period of time, you need to urgently consult a specialist.
When knee discomfort occurs at night
Most often in everyday life and hectic people do not always pay attention to discomfort in the kneecaps. Excessive employment and many distracting factors can simply drown out the visible symptoms. And already in the evening, after a hard working day, a person begins to listen to his body. And here those symptoms that have been hiding for a long period of time may just appear. The causes of pain at night are:
- Gout is a metabolic disease. Mostly due to malnutrition when salt metabolism is impaired. Even with this disease, the knee hurts on the side from the outside when pressed
- Arthritis - pain is present throughout the day, in the evening it intensifies and is accompanied by an increase in body temperature.
- Thrombosis - occurs due to blockage of veins and insufficient blood supply.
This is only a small part of what can be the cause of discomfort that occurs at night.
Causes of Knee Disease
In fact, there are many causes of knee joint disease . It depends not only on external factors, but also on internal ones. So, for example, if the human body does not receive enough nutrients, then violations begin to occur in all organs. Accordingly, normal functioning is disrupted and this is manifested in a number of diseases.
Some of the most common causes are:
- Injuries.
- Overload, especially if it occurs in old age.
- Inflammation.
- Metabolic disorders.
- Degeneration.
- Congenital genetic changes.
- Hormonal disorders.
- Bad habits.
- Excess weight.
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Diabetes.
- Infectious diseases.
If you lead a healthy lifestyle, eat right and get rid of all bad habits, you can avoid many diseases. It all depends on the person and his attitude to his health.
Diagnosis of the disease
In order to carry out the correct diagnosis, when the knee hurts on the side, from the outside, to prescribe treatment, you need to contact only a specialist. Diagnostics includes:
- External inspection of the problem area.
- A medical history, by which you can determine the cause of the disease.
- Collection of data about pain and their localization.
- Tests to clarify the diagnostic result.
- X-ray
- If possible, the patient undergoes an ultrasound.
- Angiography, in which the doctor looks at the veins of the legs.
- If necessary, the patient undergoes a full computer diagnosis.
- Analysis of blood, urine.
- If necessary, puncture.
All the data collected will help to provide a complete picture of the cause and nature of the pain, and also make it possible to prescribe an effective treatment.
Knee hurts on the side, from the outside: how to treat?
The causes of the disease can be different, the correct diagnosis will be able to identify them. Only after the causes of the pain are known, the specialist will prescribe treatment. There are also general rules for various diseases that are worth following:
- Reduce the load on the knee joint.
- Do not warm up.
- Purchase orthopedic shoes or insoles.
- With severe pain, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed.
- In case of infection, antibiotics are used.
- Various ointments, gels, compresses are used.
You should also follow all the doctor’s instructions.
Joint disease prevention
In order to be healthy and not face serious consequences, you should adhere to basic rules, such as:
- Healthy eating
- Normalization of weight.
- Rejection of bad habits.
- Active lifestyle.
- Load regulation.
A person should lead a healthy lifestyle and take care of himself, since in many ways his well-being depends on himself.