Elderly people often suffer from the fact that their knees hurt when descending the stairs or when performing other movements to bend and extend the limbs. Also, similar symptoms can occur with ordinary walking. This is because in such situations, the thigh muscles are included in the work. They need to strain pretty hard so that the knee joint can fulfill its function.
You need to understand that these parts of the body have a complex structure. Knee joints have to cope with a huge amount of stress every day. Therefore, it is not surprising that it is in these parts of the body that failures occur. If we talk about why the knee hurts when bending and flexing , going down stairs or climbing, there can be a large number of reasons. Perhaps a person is engaged in too much physical exertion or suffers from other pathologies.
Mechanical damage
In this case, the joints experience extremely heavy loads due to the fact that a person is too active in sports. Usually people who run, crouch, jump, lunges, etc. suffer from such problems. This is because such exercises are of the same type. When performing frequent movements, during which all parts of the knee should be involved, a person experiences too much stress.
This can lead to trauma, meniscus rupture , muscle inflammation and other pathologies. Also, if the knee hurts when bending and walking, then perhaps the person has previously suffered a fracture, bruise or suffered from other injuries. In this case, the pain syndrome intensifies as soon as the body weight is transferred to the sore leg.
If we talk about the signs of this type of damage to the knee joint, then in this case there will be swelling and discoloration of the damaged area, the appearance of bruises and bruises. If a person’s knee hurts, but at the same time he cannot remember any mechanical effects on his legs, then in this case it is likely to believe that he suffers from joint diseases.
In this case, you need to pay attention to additional symptoms. If during the rest pain is not observed, but at night the joints begin to hurt, then quite possibly we are talking about more serious pathologies. It is also worth paying attention to swelling in the knee area, fever, leg deformities and clicks that appear during flexion and extension of the limb.
Arthrosis
As a rule, this disease most often affects the knee joint. This pathology is characterized by a very long development. That is why for many years a person may not even suspect that he is suffering from an ailment. However, in the process of development of pathology, the destruction of cartilaginous tissues in the knee joint occurs. Ultimately, this leads to a slight deformation of the limbs and their malfunctioning.
If we are talking about an elderly person, then in this case, most likely, we are talking about idiopathic arthrosis. In this situation, the patient notes that he not only has a severe pain in his knee when bending, but also begins to publish a characteristic crunch. As a rule, with idiopathic arthrosis, both limbs suffer immediately.
There is also a type of arthrosis that manifests itself in people who have recently been treated for serious pathologies or after a knee joint injury. In this case, we can talk about patients of any age. In addition, problems can be immediately in both joints or in only one.
Features of the development of arthrosis
At the initial stage of the development of arthrosis, a person complains that his knee is very sore when he descends the stairs or bends his limbs. At first, the syndrome tormentes the patient slightly. However, gradually the pain intensifies and worsens during increased loads on the knee joints.
If you do not start treatment for this disease, in this case, the pain will begin to accompany the patient even in a calm state. This is because during arthritis, cartilage, capsules, and other important components of the knee joint are destroyed. There are several types of this pathology.
In primary arthritis, we are talking about mechanical damage to tissues. If we talk about secondary pathology, then usually it is diagnosed against the background of inflammatory processes that are localized in completely different parts of the body.
Bursitis
This pathology is an inflammatory process that occurs in the synovial bag. As a rule, an accumulation of exudate containing pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms leads to a similar ailment. In this case, it will be exclusively about pain. Unlike arthritis, with bursitis, problems with the functioning of the limbs are not observed. In this case, the patient will not complain that his knee hurts when he descends the stairs, but he will experience pain.
Meniscus tear
Knee injury can happen to absolutely anyone. Typically, this happens when the patient accidentally hits his knee on a hard surface. Also, this can happen with an athlete who is too active in squats or jumps.
If we talk about how to determine the presence of a meniscus rupture, then in this case it is worth paying attention to the sound during flexion of the extension of the knee joint. If there is a click, followed by severe pain, then in this case we are definitely talking about this pathology.
Other causes of sore knees
There are a huge number of factors that lead to unpleasant sensations. If we talk about why the knee hurts when descending the stairs, bending legs and walking, then the elderly are the most at risk and those who are overweight. It is also worthwhile to be careful for those who are diagnosed with circulatory disorders in the legs, inflammation of the tendons and joints.
The development of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus erythematosus, gout, oncology of the extremities or spinal disease leads to similar symptoms. There are a number of other specific pathologies that also lead to the fact that a person has a knee sore during bending, when lowering and climbing stairs. Only a doctor can diagnose a particular disease. He must carry out appropriate research.
Good to know
During the examination, the doctor always clarifies with the patient what kind of pain he is experiencing. Therefore, it is important to describe the symptoms as accurately as possible. The pain can be sharp, dull, etc. The doctor will also clarify the localization of unpleasant sensations. Unpleasant sensations can be observed on the external or internal side of the knee. It also matters if the knee hurts above or below the joint when descending the stairs or during other manipulations.
In addition, before contacting a specialist, it is recommended to detect how long the pain lasts. Sometimes unpleasant symptoms last no more than a few seconds. Other patients are forced to cope with pain throughout the days and nights.
Diagnostics
To determine why the knee hurts when bending and walking, the doctor must first conduct an x-ray. The picture of the diseased part of the body will clearly show what exactly the patient suffers from. In some situations, a visual examination of the limbs and palpation is sufficient.
Specialists conduct standard blood tests and pay attention to the patient’s medical history. Of course, the age of the sick person is also taken into account. Based on the data obtained, the specialist finds out why a person has a knee pain when descending the stairs. Treatment is developed on the basis of the data obtained. An individual course of therapy is usually developed.
Treatment methods
Most often, in order to get rid of problems, medications are used. As a rule, doctors prescribe painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs. In some situations, rehabilitation therapy may be required.
If a person has a knee pain when descending the stairs, he must adhere to the principles of proper nutrition, especially when it comes to problems with weight. It is also important to ensure that strong loads are not placed on your knees. This can only damage them even more and lead to inflammatory processes.
Folk remedies
The most effective remedy for pain in the knee is onions. If a person has a severe pain in the knee during bending, then in order to get rid of unpleasant symptoms, it is necessary to chop and fry a small onion together with the husk. After this, the mixture is poured with half a liter of boiling water and boiled for 15 minutes. Next, the finished broth needs to be filtered and taken twice a day. Such a folk remedy will help strengthen bones. In addition, onions have many other beneficial properties. For example, it strengthens the immune system.
If a large amount of insoluble salts is found in the joints, then black radish is suitable. For treatment, you need to eat a few tablespoons of this natural product before eating. Also, radish is applied to diseased joints for 5 minutes daily.
Another good way is to use honey. They need to generously lubricate the affected knee and wrap it with several layers of toilet paper. Mustard soaked in hot water is laid on top. After this, the limb is wrapped in cellophane and a downy scarf. In this state, a person must spend the night. The next morning he will experience significant improvements.
You can also use compresses. If the pain is severe, then you need to mix lilac flowers, chestnut leaves and dandelion in equal proportions. The mixture is placed in a glass jar and poured with vodka. After this, the liquid must be covered and removed in a cool, warm place for two weeks. After this time, cotton wool or cotton cloth should be moistened in the infusion and applied to the diseased part of the body. A cling film and a warm scarf are applied on top. Compress is done at night. As a rule, only two procedures are enough for the patient to feel a significant improvement in his condition.
Features of using natural remedies
In addition to the basic treatment of the knee joint, experts allow the use of herbs. However, resorting to such recipes, you must always remember that even the most harmless means can cause an allergic reaction. In addition, in no case should you take herbs longer than the specified period. Such funds have a cumulative property. If the content of certain components in the body is exceeded, then this can lead to intoxication.
Especially careful with herbs is to be the elderly. Today you can find a huge number of recipes using poisonous herbs. In addition, procedures that involve heating the diseased area are far from always allowed. If inflammatory processes occur in the human body, then such manipulations can only aggravate the situation. Therefore, you need to use traditional medicine very carefully and only after consulting a doctor.
Finally
If a person has a knee hurting down the stairs, it is worth considering not only the patient's age, but also possible injuries. With an exacerbation of the pain syndrome, it is necessary to diagnose and consult a doctor. If, in addition to unpleasant sensations in the knees, a person also suffers from fever, then this indicates severe inflammation. In order not to bring the situation to critical, it is recommended to immediately call an ambulance.