Many of us periodically experience knee pain. There is nothing strange about this. Knee joints are subject to great stress and are easily injured. Damage most often occurs during sports activities, outdoor activities, as well as in everyday life when doing physical work.
Why do my knees hurt and what should I do? First of all, you need to contact a specialist who will establish the cause of the pathology. Pain in the knee joint is possible with injuries of the ligaments, cartilage, tendons. Unpleasant sensations can be the cause of inflammatory processes in the periarticular bags, as well as other pathologies.
Why do knees hurt and their mobility is limited? The reason for this may be the development of an inflammatory disease - arthritis. With this pathology, pain is accompanied by swelling of the knee joint and hyperemia of its zone. One of the symptoms of arthritis is an increase in temperature in the area of the inflammatory process.
The most common answer to why knees hurt is the presence of injuries. These damages may occur unexpectedly. The circumstances for their occurrence may be the following:
- a strong blow to the knee;
- unnatural flexion of the joint;
- a sharp fall on your knees.
Already after a few minutes after causing damage, pain occurs, swelling and hematoma develop, as well as other symptoms. Injury compresses or damages the ends of nerve fibers and blood vessels. As a result of this process, the knee and lower leg are numb, a feeling of cold or tingling occurs in them. The skin located in the immediate vicinity of the injured area, pale or acquire a bluish tint.
The start of treatment for pain in the knee joint begins with the elimination of damage if:
- injured ligaments and tendons in the patella;
- menisci are damaged ;
- there was a rupture of the ankle ligaments;
- there was a closed or open fracture of the bone of the thigh, lower leg, and also the patella;
- there was a dislocation of the knee joint.
Unpleasant sensations can cause excessive stress. Repeated physical effects cause tissue irritation and the appearance of foci of inflammation. Knees hurt after running, cycling, as well as with numerous jumps. Physical overload provokes the appearance of:
- bursitis (inflammation of the mucous membrane of the articular bag);
- tendiosis (tendon lesions);
- fibrinous film syndrome (the occurrence of painful thickenings and folds in the ligaments);
- femoral-patella pain syndrome;
- inflammatory process in fibrous tissue.
If after running the knees hurt in adolescents, then this may be due to necrosis of the tibial tuberosity. Usually this pathology is manifested by small tumors in the front of the joint.
Why do knees hurt with osteoarthritis? The reason for this is the destruction of joint structures. Unpleasant sensations, stiffness of motor activity, as well as tumors occur with gout, lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Painful pathological neoplasms occur with popliteal bursitis. Unpleasant sensations are accompanied by infectious processes in the joints (arthritis). Pain in the knees can be the result of diseases in other areas (back, hips, etc.). Their occurrence provokes compression of nerve fibers.
In rare cases, pain in the knees can cause Koenig's disease. With this pathology, a fragment of the cartilage is separated from the bone. Subsequently, it dies and moves into the joint cavity.
If you feel severe pain in the knee joint, you should consult a specialist. Only he can prescribe the necessary course of treatment, based on the cause of the existing pathology.