Warning!Are You Making Any of These 3 Common Deadly Knee Treatment Mistakes?
"How to Get Rid of Your Knee Pain Once and For All - The Right Way!
Your Knee Symptoms Guide for Mild, Serious and Life-Threatening Knee Problems
By Dr. Paul Anderson, M.D.
Sports Medicine Expert
Knee Symptoms
Here are the four common knee symptoms with possible diagnosis and causes. Please - always get your knee examined, diagnosed and treated by a medical professional such as a Sports Medicine Doctor.
Common Signs and Symptoms Symptom #1: Swelling
Swelling ranges from mild to large, with or without pain. Knee swelling in the joint can be from either extra joint fluid or blood. Blood in the joint is a serious problem, usually from damage to a blood-vessel-rich structure - a torn joint covering (the synovial membrane); a fractured bone; or, a torn anterior or posterior cruciate ligament.
There are some serious and possibly life-threatening causes of knee problems that result in swelling - especially in combination with other symptoms.
Serious Swelling
Here are four types of knee swelling that are potential medical emergencies - they require urgent diagnosis and proper treatment:
Swollen knee that is red and hot - with or without a fever
You suffer a knee injury or injuries and the joint swells up like a balloon
Both your knee and ankle are swollen
Large swollen knee - with no history of injury or trauma
Those types of swelling are commonly caused by:
infection
gout or pseudo-gout
fracture of the thigh bone (femur), leg bones (tibia, fibula) and knee cap (patella)
dislocated kneecap (patella)
tear in the joint covering (synovial membrane)
tumor or cancer
blood clot (Deep or Femoral Vein Thrombosis)
tear in the cruciate ligaments, either anterior (ACL) or posterior (PCL)
Osteochondritis Dessicans
patellar tendon tear (Osgood-Schlatter disease in teenagers and kids) with possible tendon rupture
quadriceps tendon tear or rupture
inflammatory arthritis like Rheumatoid arthritis
quadriceps or hamstring muscles tear
A large swollen knee is usually a serious symptom. You should seek immediate medical help and get the proper treatment for any knee injury.
Mild Swelling
Mild swelling is usually the result of extra joint fluid caused by inflammation (not blood) from chronic knee problems such as:
Osteoarthritis (common knee arthritis) from degenerative joint disease
Pre-arthritis, also called Patellar Femoral Syndrome (PFS) and Chondromalacia
damaged cartilage, such as medial or lateral meniscus tears
old (chronic), medial or lateral collateral ligament tears
old cruciate ligament injury with tear (ACL or PCL )
patellar tendon tendonitis (Osgood-Schlatter disease in teenagers and kids)
quadriceps tendonitis
Symptom #2: Locking
This is when your knee gets stuck in one position and won't move. There are two types of joint locking - Real and Pseudo (fake).
Real Locking
In Real Locking, your knee joint gets stuck and will not flex or extend until you deliberately move or manipulate it. If you can't unlock your knee, get to a qualified medical doctor immediately for evaluation and proper knee injury treatment.
Real Locking is caused by damaged cartilage, usually from either a medial or lateral meniscus tear; or a loose body getting lodged in between your thigh bone (femur) and your leg bone (tibia). This is why you need to manipulate your joint until the cartilage or loose body gets unstuck. Real Locking is potentially damaging to your knee cartilage and may cause early Osteoarthritis (common wear-and-tear knee arthritis).
Pseudo Locking
In Pseudo Locking, your knee feels stuck but will move without manipulation - usually unlocking slowly with some knee pain. This knee pain symptom usually stems from damaged, rough or arthritic cartilage located on the backside of the knee cap (patella). Pseudo Locking is typical of Osteoarthritis (common knee arthritis) and Pre-arthritis (also called Chondromalacia and Patellar Femoral Syndrome - PFS).
Symptom #3: Aching and Pain Pain Location
The knee pain location is not quite as helpful for diagnosis as you would think - some tissues in the knee have poor nerve supply. Pain can therefore be felt in one place while your actual knee injury, or knee problems, are really somewhere else. For example, knee pain on the inside (medial) may be from local structures such as the medial collateral ligament or the medial meniscus - but, that is also a common place to feel referred pain that is actually coming from the back of the knee cap (patella).
Pain on the inside, outside, around, below or behind the kneecap (patella) and the back of your knee ... could be from any of the following serious causes:
infection
gout or pseudo-gout
bone fracture
knee cap (patella) dislocation
a tear in the joint covering (synovial membrane)
tumor or cancer
blood clot (Deep Vein Thrombosis - DVT)
a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or posterior cruciate ligament (PCL)
Osteochondritis Dessicans
patellar tendon tear
quadriceps tendon tear
inflammatory arthritis
Where is your pain? Inside (Medial) Knee Pain
Inside, or medial pain, is a common location. Causes include:
fracture of the leg bone (tibia) or thigh bone (femur)
dislocation of the knee cap (patella)
Outside (Lateral) Knee Pain
This is a less-common location. Causes include:
lateral collateral ligament sprain or tear
lateral meniscus injury with tear,
common knee arthritis (Osteoarthritis)
Pre-arthritis (Patellar Femoral Syndrome, Chondromalacia, and Runners Knee)
a fracture of the leg bone (tibia) or thigh bone (femur) or fibular head
Iliotibial Band Syndrome
Pain Around, Below or Behind the Kneecap (Patella)
This location is quite deceptive because the kneecap is poorly innervated. As a result, you may feel referred pain somewhere else, other than in the real spot. Common causes include:
common knee arthritis (Osteoarthritis)
Pre-arthritis (Patellar Femoral Syndrome - PFS Chondromalacia and Runners knee)
patella fracture
patella dislocation
patellar tendonitis
Bursitis
Pain at the Back of the Knee
This is a less-frequent location for pain and swelling. Common causes include:
Baker's Cyst
popliteus muscle tear
lateral meniscus tear, usually posterior horn
medial meniscus tear, usually posterior horn
plantaris tear with rupture
common knee arthritis (Osteoarthritis)
blood clot (DVT)
Knee Pain on Stairs, Standing, Sitting
This is quite common and classic for the following conditions:
Osteoarthritis (common knee arthritis)
Pre-arthritis (Patellar Femoral Syndrome - PFS, Chondromalacia and Runners Knee)
Intermittent Pain after walking a certain distance, usually with leg or calf pain
This is a potentially serious medical condition. Common causes include:
Intermittent claudication
Osteoarthritis (common knee arthritis)
Spinal stenosis
Constant Pain with additional outside leg, calf or foot pain
This is not normal with knee pain and is usually associated with something else. Common causes include:
Sciatica
Spinal stenosis
Knee Pain That Worsens with Activity - especially with running
Osteoarthritis (common knee arthritis) with articular cartilage damage
chronic sprain or tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), with instability
Osteochondritis Dessicans
chronic medial collateral ligament sprain or tear
chronic lateral collateral ligament sprain or tear
Symptom #4: Buckling Knee Buckling
This means you take a step and your knee buckles under you. Buckling, like locking, can be Real or Pseudo (fake).
Real Buckling
This is usually from a complete anterior cruciate ligament tear with instability. The ACL holds your knee bones together when you move. If your ACL is torn, the thigh bone (femur) can slide over top of the leg bone (tibia), causing you to buckle and fall.
Pseudo Buckling
This is when your knee buckles from pain, not instability. Usually, pseudo buckling is from:
Those are the four common knee symptoms (swelling, locking, pain and buckling) with their associated diagnosis. The next step is to confirm your diagnosis with testing, if needed.
Hopefully, the above information will help you find an answer for your knee pain.
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