All of us have had a knee injury in our lives, even if it was a blow from a table leg. Given that the knee is the most complex joint in the human body, the pain can be very intense. Since it is the largest joint, the chances of injury are high. Knee pain can be caused by a sudden injury, excessive exercise, or a certain medical condition, such as arthritis.
The most common causes of knee pain are knee ligament injuries, meniscus injuries, inflammation of the bursa around the joint, inflammation and degeneration of the patellar tendon, Baker’s cyst on the back of the knee, degeneration of the patella cartilage, osteoarthritis of the knee, the incomplete function of the ankle or hip, professional diseases in occupations where kneeling and so on. What is inconvenient is that the pain comes without warning and it usually happens at the most inconvenient moment. You are ready to play a very important game for your baseball team, and here it is, it happens, you feel the pain that you cannot ignore. What will you do?
The first thing you need to do is not to panic and think about the degree of pain. If the pain is mild and you feel you can continue playing, do so. Try to spare your leg a little during the game, and if you feel that the condition is getting worse, don’t hesitate to leave the game. After all, health comes first. When you get home, try to rest as much as possible, lie down, and put a cold pack on your knees. If the pain is more intense, take a painkiller. You do not have to rush to the doctor immediately, give yourself a time to see if you will recover, maybe it’s nothing serious.
So, you rested, and tried compresses, massage, and various creams to alleviate the pain, but it doesn’t go away. Considering that we said that there are many reasons for pain in this part of the body, it is best to seek the advice of a doctor.Sometimes the doctor can give a diagnosis with a classic, visual examination of the painful area, but an x-ray, CT scan, MRI, or ultrasound will definitely reveal the cause of the pain. However, which type of check you will choose depends on your doctor, who will refer you to a radiologist. You can learn more about what exactly you need if you visit W-radiology.com. This type of examination and recording of the painful area will give the best diagnosis.
What many are not sure about is when it is time to consult a doctor. Knee pain can be manifested by a wide range of symptoms. With this in mind, you should listen carefully to your body. Pay attention when you feel the pain, whether it is the moment you lean on your leg or when you are in a state of relaxation, if the pain lasts day and night, if you can normally stand on your leg, climb the stairs, and so on.
Also, pay attention to whether there is swelling and the knee is hot, i.e. but also if there are any other changes of a physical nature.Various diagnostic procedures can be used to diagnose injuries to the ligaments, meniscus, and knee joint. These include ultrasound, X-rays, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), and CT (computed tomography). The results of these tests can help discover the cause of your knee problems.
Let’s go back to the sport and their correlation with knees. There is no need for explanation how physical activity is good for our health, but it is also well known that long-term walking and playing sports can lead to accelerated wear and tear of the knees. Any time you spend on your feet is beneficial for your health, but also for injuries if you have a predisposition for it, such as being overweight. Even five extra kilograms means twenty times more weight on the knee. The greater the weight, the more the knee suffers. To preserve the health of your knees as much as you can, it is important to take into account the overall health of the body.
If you have knee pain, chances are that a deep therapeutic massage from an experienced therapist will help immediately. There are also some preventive things that each of us can do for ourselves in order to preserve the health of our knees, and strengthening the gluteal muscles is a step towards that, because weak muscles lead to turning the legs inward, which eventually starts to cause pain.
What we can conclude is that sport is good for our health, but it also wears out our cartilage if we overdo it with exercise, therefore it is important to wear proper footwear. To reduce knee pain, choose comfortable shoes, designed to reduce shock when walking and training. Sometimes the medical team may be necessary for the treatment of an injured knee which includes orthopedic doctors, physical therapists, occupational therapists, or other rehabilitation specialists.
The recovery time from an injury depends on the type and severity of the injury. However, it is important that during recovery you start with lighter physical activities, such as a short walk, and gradually increase your pace. Simpler strain or sprain injuries can last from one to two weeks, and more severe injuries that require arthroscopic surgery can take one to three months to recover.
Knee pain has many different causes. It is of great importance to determine the correct diagnosis of the cause of the symptoms so that adequate therapy can be applied. Sprains and tears of knee ligaments are very common sports injuries. Apart from sports, we can get them in all situations where the knee suffers too much load, for example in traffic accidents or falls. So, before you start training, take a few minutes to warm up, your knees will be grateful.
