Common Knee Pain, Injuries and Causes

Infection - red, hot swollen knee, possibly accompanied by a fever. Knee pain may be diffuse and mild to severe.

Common causes include:

• bacterial contamination from knee injections or a penetrating wound
• venereal infection
• blood infection (sepsis)

Gout - red, hot swollen knee. No fever. Knee pain diffuse and severe.

Common causes include:

• uric acid that forms hard crystals in the knee joint, causing inflammation and pain

Pseudo-Gout - red, hot swollen knee. No fever. Knee pain diffuse and severe.

Common causes include:

• calcium pyrophosphate that forms hard crystals in the knee joint, causing inflammation and pain

Bone Fracture - usually produces large swelling of the knee from the bone bleeding into the joint. This could be from a fracture of the thigh bone (femur), inside leg bone (tibia), outside leg bone (fibula) and knee cap (patella). Tibia plateau fractures.are difficult to see on X-ray and are often missed - they often require an MRI or bone scan for proper diagnosis.

Common causes include:

• high velocity falls or major force trauma

• examples: car accidents, skiing, football, hockey, rugby, soccer

Torn joint covering (synovial membrane) - usually results in large swelling of the knee from synovial membrane bleeding into the joint. Pain is local or diffuse and severe.

Common causes include:

• high velocity falls or major force trauma

• examples: car accidents, skiing, football, rugby, hockey, soccer
• synovitis knee

Tumor or cancer - mild to large swelling of the knee. Knee pain local or diffuse, mild to severe and may go away with aspirin or anti-inflammatory drugs. Other symptoms include fatigue, weight loss and general malaise.

Common causes include:

• genetic predisposition

• unknown

• exposure to toxins

• metastatic cancer

Blood Clot (Deep Vein Thrombosis) also called DVT - mild to large swelling of the knee. Back knee pain.
Often, the ankle is swollen too. Blood clots form in a deep vein around the back of the knee or up higher in the thigh, preventing blood from returning to the heart and, instead, forcing it to pool in the leg. This is a serious condition that is often missed in diagnosis. It needs prompt and proper treatment - untreated DVTs have a mortality (death) rate of 25%.

Common causes include:

• genetic predisposition

• sitting for long periods of time, especially with poor fluid intake causing dehydration

• long plane rides, especially with coffee or alcohol which increase dehydration at high altitudes

• the birth control pill

• cancer

• trauma to the back of the knee

Torn anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) – immediate, rapid large swelling of the knee, usually following an obvious injury. Knee pain diffuse.

Common causes include:

• The thigh bone (femur) driving over top of the leg bone, shearing the ACL ligament … from high-velocity falls or major force trauma from car accidents and sports like football, rugby, hockey, soccer and basketball

• Sudden stops with the knee in a flexed position

Torn posterior cruciate ligaments (PCL) – immediate, rapid large swelling of the knee, usually following an obvious injury. Pain diffuse.

Common causes include:

• the thigh bone (femur) driving backwards over the leg bone, shearing the PCL ligament … from high-velocity falls or major force trauma from car accidents and sports like football, rugby, hockey, soccer and basketball

• Sudden stops with the knee in an extended position

Osteochondritis Dessicans – produces mild to large swelling, real locking and buckling. A small piece of bone or cartilage has been ripped from the knee cap (patella), thigh bone (femur) or the leg bone (tibia). Pain anywhere.

Common causes include:

• high velocity falls or major force trauma from car accidents and sports like football, rugby, hockey, soccer and basketball

• Osteoarthritis or common knee arthritis with cartilage damage

* acute and chronic (patella) knee cap dislocation or subluxation

Quadriceps tendon tear – the degree of swelling depends on the severity of the tear. Complete tears have large swelling (with contraction of quadriceps muscles up into the thigh). A small tear may have only mild swelling. Pain above knee or upper knee pain.

Common causes include -

• quadriceps muscles contracting too hard, tearing or rupturing the tendon … from high velocity falls or major force trauma from car accidents and sports like football, rugby, hockey and soccer

• Sudden stops with the knee flexed

Inflammatory arthritis - swelling may be mild to large. Knee joint is hot and red. Pain diffuse and severe.

Common causes are usually a combination of:

• Genetic predisposition

• Diet

• Leaky gut

• unknown

Intermittent Claudication – there is usually no swelling. Knee pain is intermittent, severe and usually accompanied by calf pain. It’s like having ‘angina of the leg.’

Common causes include:

• atherosclerosis which narrows the femoral artery, restricting blood flow

Knee Osteoarthritis or common knee arthritis - swelling usually mild from damage to knee cartilage. Knee pain mild to severe.

Common causes include:

• major knee trauma from falls and sports injuries

• high velocity accidents

• minor repetitive trauma from poor joint mechanics, running and jobs that involve squatting and kneeling

• poor joint nutrition from a lack of Omega 3, low levels of vitamins and minerals from a diet with inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption, low vitamin D3, low glucosamine and chondroitin intake

• genetic predisposition

Spinal Stenosis - no swelling, but mild to severe knee pain when walking.

Common causes include:

• narrowing of the spinal canal with aging

Medial collateral ligament sprain or tear - – the resultant knee swelling is usually mild but can be large. Tears can be from mild sprains to full complete ruptures. Knee pain is on the inside (medial). Pain mild to severe localized to inside of knee.

Common causes include:

• Trauma from the outside of the knee which stretches the MCL ligament

Medial meniscus injury with tear - usually produces mild swelling. Knee pain ild to severe on the inside (medial).

Common causes include:

* Any force or trauma that twists the knee under full load.

Pre-arthritis, also called Patellofemoral Syndrome or Chondromalacia – results in mild swelling. Knee pain varies.You may suffer with...

• Knee pain when kneeling
• Knee pain when bending
• Knee pain climbing stairs
• Knee pain going down stairs
• Aching knees - Some people complain of a clicking knee from the patella mal-tracking.

Common causes include:

• Poor joint mechanics from misaligned bones, often with functionally flat feet (overpronation), leading to knee cap (patella) mal-tracking which irritates and eventually wears away the cartilage at the back of the knee cap.

• Sudden quadriceps (thigh muscles) contraction, usually in a straightened position, causing the kneecap to slam into the thigh bone (femoral condyle)

Kneecap dislocation - usually produces large swelling with the pain occurring on the inside (medial) of the knee. The knee cap usually dislocates (slides) too far to the outside.

Common causes include:

• high velocity falls or major force trauma from car accidents and sports like football, rugby, hockey, soccer and basketball

• genetic predisposition towards poor joint alignment or excessive knee valgus

Lateral collateral ligament sprain or tear - knee swelling is usually mild but can be large. Tears can result from mild sprains to full complete ruptures. Outside knee pain ( lateral pain).

Common causes include:

• Trauma from the outside of the knee which stretches the LCL ligament too far

Lateral meniscus injury with tear – the swelling is usually mild. The pain occurs on the outside (lateral) of the knee.

Common causes include:

• Any force or trauma that twists the knee under full load

Iliotibial Band Syndrome – the knee swelling is usually mild and on the outside (lateral). The knee pain is also lateral.

Common causes include:

• Sports involving running, jumping or squatting

• A tight IT Band

Patellar tendonitis – the swelling is usually mild and the accompanying pain is on the tendon, right underneath the knee cap (patella).

Common causes include:

• Sports involving running, jumping or squatting

Bursitis – a bursa is a fluid-filled sac designed to reduce friction wherever tendons ride over bones. Bursitis occurs when these sacs become inflamed. The most common one injured is the pre-patellar bursa. Swelling is usually mild and the pain location depends on the specific bursa being inflamed.

Common causes include:

• Overuse of the knee causing the tendons to rub on the bursa, producing inflammation

• Trauma to the bursa

Baker’s cyst – joint swelling is mild to large from a fluid bulge. Knee pain is at the back of the knee.

Common causes include -

• Knee Arthritis ( degenerative joint disease)

• Meniscus tear

• Trauma

Popliteus muscle tear – results in pain to the small muscle in the back of the knee. Swelling can be mild to large.

Common causes include:

• Twisting force on the knee

Plantaris tear with rupture - this is a violent injury to the muscle which attaches to the back of the knee and goes into the calf. It usually occurs with a full rupture and feels as though you have just been shot. There is immediate large swelling in the knee and calf.

Hopefully the above information will help you find the answer to your knee pain.