If the knee is swollen and sore, this is an occasion to sound the alarm and take care to restore working capacity, restore life activity and avoid disability in the future. Without knowledge of clinical symptoms and an understanding of processes, this cannot be done. And advanced forms of diseases can lead to an inflammatory process, secondary pathologies, restriction of physical activity and loss of mobility. Below we consider in more detail why the knee is swollen and sore, the reasons for what to treat and what are the methods of diagnosing this condition.
What you need to know before starting treatment
As a rule, swelling and pain in the knee joint are the result of any injuries. But such a problem can also arise due to the pathological processes of an inflammatory and infectious nature in the body.
Is it worth paying attention to the fact that the knee is swollen and sore? In some cases, this can be a temporary complication caused by a serious overload, which will pass by itself over time. But according to statistics, most often such unpleasant sensations are harbingers of any disease. This means that delaying a trip to the doctor is dangerous.
About a third of people in pre-retirement age are susceptible to pathologies with similar symptoms - gout, arthritis, poliomyelitis, arthrosis. And people after 65 years in almost half of cases suffer from chronic diseases of the knee joints, most often on both legs.
If the knee is swollen and sore, then most likely this is due to anatomical, destructive, atrophic or morphological changes in the joint tissues: tendons, cartilage, muscles. They decrease in volume, lose their elasticity and strength. In such situations, urgent action is needed.
Possible reasons
The appearance of pain and swelling in the knee can be due to many reasons. Below are the main ones:
- Tendonitis is an inflammation of the tendons. Tendons are the dense fibers of the connective tissue, with which the muscles are attached to the bones. With their inflammation, irritation or damage, the knee joint swells, and during movement there is a sharp pain.
- Damage to the knee ligaments. In the case of such a pathology, a feeling of instability and severe sharp pain appears. For example, with damage to the anterior cruciate ligament due to the above signs, it will be almost impossible to step on a sore leg.
- Bursitis is an inflammation of the joint bag. This disease leads to redness of the soft tissues near the knee, a severe tumor and a serious inflammatory process. In this case, the person feels that his knee is swollen and his leg hurts. And motor activity is markedly reduced.
- Injury. As a rule, it is accompanied by redness, swelling and pain.
- Displacement of the patella. The patient experiences discomfort, difficulty walking, swelling occurs, and when you try to straighten your leg, pain appears that does not allow you to do this to the end.
- Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease that is accompanied by constant pain and swelling in the knee joint. Unpleasant sensations are especially intensified in the morning. Most often, patients with this pathology complain that the knees are swollen and sore on both legs. The disease gradually destroys cartilage. It requires serious and lengthy treatment.
- Cyst Baker. It usually occurs after a severe bruise. A cyst causes swelling. This is due to fluid accumulation in the knee area. Before the appearance of this pathology, the following symptoms occur: pain in the calf muscles, tingling in the foot.
- Goff's disease. It is characterized by inflammation of the adipose tissue around the knee joint. In this case, patients often complain that the back of the knee is swollen and painful. The pain syndrome is localized on the inner surface of the articular joint.
- Gout. The knee joint is swollen, there is severe redness, unbearable pain, the temperature rises. The disease is chronic. It makes no sense to wait until a severe or acute form occurs. With gout, it is best to consult a doctor as soon as possible.
- Osteoporosis. A person suffering from this pathology complains not only that the knee is swollen and sore, but also about the discomfort when moving the joint, as well as weather dependence. Unpleasant sensations intensify before any weather changes.
Who often asks what to treat
Any person can suffer arthritis or get a knee injury. But there are categories of people who more often complain that the knee is swollen and sore. The reasons for this are the following factors:
- Excess weight. In such patients, the load on the joints is increased, in connection with which they are faster destroyed and deformed.
- High physical activity. This includes athletes and people whose work involves weight lifting.
- Age after 40 years, especially in women. Such patients have an increased risk of osteoporosis. In addition, it has been observed that women are more prone to rupture of the knee ligaments than men.
- Anatomical features. This includes people with different leg lengths or flat feet.
- Sedentary lifestyle. In this case, there is a lack of muscle flexibility, due to which the knee joint is worse supported, and the load on it increases.
What to do?
If a person is at risk, he needs to limit the excessive load on the knee. If the patient is overweight, you should think about the correction of lifestyle and nutrition. Indeed, extra pounds have a bad effect not only on the joints, but also on the vessels, heart, and other internal organs.
And most importantly, you should not take your health lightly: if your knee is swollen, your legs hurt and other unpleasant sensations appear, you should immediately consult a doctor.
Diagnostics
Timely and correctly diagnosed guarantees the success of treatment. After a clinical examination and analysis of anamnestic data, the following types of diagnostic examinations are prescribed:
- Arthrography.
- Roentgenography.
- Ultrasound
- MRI
- CT scan.
- Scintigraphy.
If an infection is suspected, a knee puncture may be prescribed. This is necessary to determine the pathogen. To obtain complete information about the patient’s state of health, clinical tests of urine and blood are also collected, a biochemical study is conducted to determine rheumatic samples.
Swollen knee and sore: what to do?
What to do before contacting a specialist? If your legs hurt, your knee is swollen and movement is difficult, you can try to get rid of these symptoms yourself before visiting a doctor. The following are quick home healing methods:
- The first thing to do is to give the knee joint a rest and, if possible, not to overload the sore leg.
- Apply ice or something cold for 20 minutes to the affected joint. This will reduce pain and swelling. If there is no ice at hand, you can use any product from the freezer.
- It helps to relieve pain and swelling tincture of horse chestnut flowers. It is done as follows: 0.5 l of vodka and 50 g of flowers are mixed in a glass dish. The solution is infused in a cool place for a week. During the onset of pain, they rub a sore spot.
- Compresses from medical, camphor alcohol and iodine. The components are taken in a ratio of 1: 1: 1 and 10 tablets of analgin are added to them. The resulting mixture is applied to a sore knee. After 30 minutes or when the pain subsides, the compress is removed gently, washed off with warm water.
If your knees are swollen and sore, how to treat? These methods are only a temporary measure. In any case, the symptoms should be described to the doctor who will prescribe the necessary treatment regimen.
Treatment
The nature and extent of therapeutic measures depend on the disease that caused the swelling and pain in the knee. The timely implementation of surgical and conservative methods of therapy helps to restore motor activity and the disappearance of pain.
First aid
If the knee is damaged as a result of an injury, the following first aid rules must be followed:
- The application of an elastic bandage.
- Immobilization.
- Applying cold.
- The victim needs to raise his leg and give a horizontal position to the body.
- The iodine grid helps relieve swelling.
In order to cope with pain, you can use "Ibuprofen" or "Paracetamol" in tablets.
Conservative Therapies
If the knee is swollen and sore, how to treat? As a rule, in case of serious injuries, a plaster cast is applied. With persistent edema, treatment with diuretics is prescribed. In addition, anti-inflammatory drugs can be used to alleviate the condition. At the stage of recovery, prevent re-swelling help: massage, physiotherapy and physiotherapy.
Pain symptoms are treated with the following ointments:
- Heparin ointment fights bruises.
- "Diclofenac" is prescribed against inflammation.
- Dolgit is an analgesic.
Other drugs may also be used. All medicines are used only as directed by a doctor.
Most drugs for treating knee injuries contain cooling and decongestant components. This is especially important at the initial stage of therapy, since the warming effect can increase pain and swelling. To enhance the therapeutic effect, injectable solutions that can be found inside the joint can be prescribed. For these purposes, steroid hormones are used: Dexamethasone, Hydrocortisone, Diprospan. To eliminate problems with the vessels shown:
- Antiplatelet agents (Pentoxifylline, Acetylsalicylic Acid).
- Anticoagulants ("Heparin").
- Venotonics (Troxevasinum).
Surgery
If conventional therapy is ineffective, surgical intervention may be indicated to resume motor activity. Baker's cyst requires removal of excess synovial fluid and puncture of the joint in the early stages of the disease. Cystic formation and meniscus damage are successfully treated only with the help of surgery. Complex knee injuries with serious injuries and rupture of ligaments require surgical intervention to restore motor functions.
Knee swollen and sore - how to treat (folk remedies)?
To reduce swelling after the appointment of a drug course of treatment, traditional medicine methods can be used. They contribute to a speedy recovery. The most common and effective are:
- Ointment or tincture based on horse chestnut.
- Burdock.
- Grated potato cabbage leaf compress.
To improve metabolic processes, it is recommended to drink decoctions due to the following medicinal plants:
- Nettle.
- Lingonberry.
- Mint.
- Hop.
Non-traditional drugs can only be used after consulting a doctor and after conservative and surgical treatment.
Possible complications
Untimely medical care may lead to the development of the following complications:
- Stiffness.
- Arthrosis with deformity.
- Thrombophlebitis.
- Rupture of a Baker cyst with the ingress of fluid into the calf muscles.
- Infection of the knee joint and surrounding tissues with an infection.