The musculoskeletal system of a person experiences strong loads during any movement. The joints have a very complex structure, they are often inflamed and are injured. In this case, severe pain appears that impede the movement of a person and worsen the quality of his life. The patella is particularly affected. This joint has a very large load, especially in overweight people. And inflammation or injury brings great suffering.
Not all people go to doctors for knee pain. Home treatment for this problem, however, is not always effective, as painkillers will not help without addressing the cause. Therefore, the main thing with this problem is to make the correct diagnosis. And it is advisable to seek medical help as soon as a knee pain occurs.
Which doctor can help
If the problem arose after an injury, of course, you need to contact a traumatologist or orthopedic surgeon. Only they can recommend effective remedies for the quick return of freedom of movement. But it happens that the pain occurs suddenly, for no apparent reason. Who should I contact in this case? First of all, it is advisable to visit a therapist. He will prescribe tests and recommend which doctor to visit. Most likely, it will be a rheumatologist. In difficult cases, when the diagnosis cannot be made, you can visit a neurologist or osteopath.
Symptoms of problems
The disease may appear suddenly, the knee in such cases aches or shoots with sharp pain. It intensifies when walking, especially when descending or climbing stairs. Sometimes even the slightest bending of a limb becomes impossible, which greatly complicates any movement. The pain can be constant, aching or severe, and can only occur when moving or at night.
Joints can get sore after a heavy load or a long walk. The pain is localized most often inside the knee. But it can hurt and behind, below the joint or above. And pain on the side of the knee most often indicates physical damage. If the disease becomes chronic, the pain periodically subsides, but can occur after any exertion, hypothermia, or even with an infectious disease.
Who can get knee pain
- First of all, the elderly are at risk.
- Athletes are often injured.
- People with an inborn predisposition to joint diseases suffer from it.
- Those who wear uncomfortable shoes.
- Knees often hurt overweight people, a problem may also appear during pregnancy.
- Professional activity can cause joint dysfunction, for example, for those who have to kneel or squat for a long time.
What causes pain
- Inflammatory or traumatic damage to cartilage and ligaments.
- The accumulation of fluid in the joint or its absence.
- Pinched nerve.
- Heavy load due to excess weight or physical overwork.
- The ingress of a foreign body into the joint.
Reasons for this problem
- Most often, it is caused by chronic or acute arthritis. Because of it, the elasticity of the ligaments decreases and mineral salts in the joint are deposited, which causes pain.
- Arthrosis is a little less common - damage to the articular cartilage of a non-inflammatory nature.
- Basically, elderly people turn to the doctor for pain in the knees, which is associated with age-related changes in the joints.
- Crunch and pain in the knees can be caused by bursitis.
- Various domestic and sports injuries also often cause this problem.
- Congenital pathologies, metabolic disorders, or some diseases can also cause knee pain (gout, lupus, or rheumatism).
- Strong physical activity or overweight.
- Vascular disorders and poor circulation in the knee joint can also cause pain.
- The cause of the problem may be an infection or a tumor.
How to treat an ailment
Solving the problem only with painkillers is ineffective. First of all, you need to establish the cause of the pain, in accordance with it, the doctor prescribes treatment. Usually it is complex. What is included in therapeutic measures aimed at eliminating this problem?
1. Pain relief with compresses, ointments and pills.
2. Treatment of the disease that caused this problem. It can be conducted both in a medical institution and at home. Sometimes local remedies are sufficient, but mostly medications are also needed for oral or injection use. In complex and advanced cases, surgical intervention may be required.
3. The final stage of treatment should be the restoration of joint mobility. This can be done using physical therapy, physiotherapy or massage. In addition, you need to know the means of preventing the problem, since the patella has a complex structure and is very prone to damage.
4. What else is important to do with knee pain? Treatment at home necessarily involves following a special diet and quitting smoking and alcohol, which can exacerbate the problem.
First aid for pain
Not always a person has the opportunity to immediately consult a doctor. But very painful knees. Treatment at home for the first attack is possible using different means:
- First of all, it is necessary to reduce the load on the sore leg: when walking use crutches or a cane, and even better - lie down;
- pain and swelling can be removed using ice;
- after a minor injury, you can use an elastic bandage, but do not tighten it much and keep it for more than two days;
- to improve blood circulation in a sore joint, a light massage is recommended, which does not cause additional pain.
Medications
The treatment of pain in the knee joints should be comprehensive. Painkillers, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, chondroprotectors for cartilage restoration and general strengthening drugs are prescribed. An ointment for knee joints, which includes diclofenac, is very effective. The most famous of them are Voltaren or Ortofen. An ointment for knee joints with an anti-inflammatory effect, for example, based on nimesulide, is also very popular. Creams and gels with ketoprofen in the composition, for example, Fastum Gel, or based on ibuprofen, for example, Dolgit, relieve pain well. But local funds alone are often few. Doctors prescribe pain and anti-inflammatory drugs in the form of tablets and injections for patients. The best medicine for knee pain is Tenoxicam tablets. Indomethacin, Diclofenac, Ketanov, and Naproxen are also effective.
Folk pain relief recipes
Medications often cause side effects, they can not be used for a long time. But it often happens that knees hurt for a very long time. Folk remedies in this case will be the best treatment. Below are the most popular and effective ones:
- bandage cabbage leaf to the knee for the night;
- grate horseradish root and raw potatoes and make a compress; you need to keep it no more than 15 minutes;
- take a tablespoon of honey, soda and mustard and mix well; with this composition, a compress on the knee can be done all night;
- very useful in the treatment of joint gelatin; it is recommended to make compresses with it, and also to take orally in the form of various jellies, sauces and desserts;
- an effective ointment made from turpentine, egg yolk and apple cider vinegar (the smell is not very pleasant, but the pain passes quickly);
- many folk remedies for the treatment of knees include various cleansing decoctions and infusions; best removed salts and toxins from the joints lingonberry leaves, burdock leaves, walnuts;
- An effective tool is minced in a meat grinder parsley with lemon, mixed with honey;
- Ointment from celandine juice mixed with petroleum jelly relieves pain in knees;
- sometimes soda lotions on the knee joint are effective.
Exercises for knee pain
When acute pains pass, the recovery phase begins. The best remedy for this would be special gymnastics. It can be done independently at home.
All exercises should be done slowly, without sudden movements and heavy load on the knees. Walking, swimming and exercise bikes are very useful for this problem. If you doubt whether it is possible to perform any movements, it is better to consult a doctor. Strength exercises and stretching are helpful. It is necessary to strengthen the muscles of the legs and improve joint mobility. To do this, you can use leg lifts, slowly bending them in the knees, half-squats, squats with support on the wall and lunges on a platform or bench.
Massage technique
This is an auxiliary treatment for knee pain. It improves blood circulation, which helps to reduce swelling and the disappearance of pain. Acupressure works best in this regard. If it is not possible to visit a specialist, you can do such a massage yourself. For example, sit on the floor, put tennis balls under your knees. If you move your legs, the balls will stimulate the points under the knees. You can also grab the knee with both hands and rub it on all sides, providing an impact on several points. But it is best to entrust this procedure to a specialist. Knee massage is done 15-20 minutes once a day. Techniques such as rubbing, kneading and stroking are used. It is necessary to massage both legs equally, even if the second knee does not hurt.
Prevention of knee pain
- It is necessary to monitor your weight, because it is precisely because of this that in many cases knees hurt.
- Shoes should be worn comfortable, it is best to use soft orthopedic insoles.
- Diet is also very important for joint diseases. It is necessary to exclude fatty foods and pastries from the diet, eat more vegetables, fruits, fish and vegetable oil. Useful turmeric and ginger.
- When playing sports and physical work, it is necessary to protect the knees from damage, do not overstrain much.
- It is necessary to consult a doctor on time, avoiding the appearance of severe pain.
Only if you monitor your health can you quickly and without consequences eliminate pain in your knees. Home treatment for this ailment can be effective, but often leads to complications. Therefore, with any discomfort in the joints, you should not self-medicate, you need to see a doctor. After all, the knee joint is so important for normal movement that it is better to play it safe than to walk on crutches later.