Many of us have experienced knee pain more than once in our lives. Sometimes it was due to an unsuccessful jump from a height or a fall on the street or at home. But some people can develop knee pain for no apparent reason. In any case, such pain cannot be ignored! It is necessary to consult a doctor, as pain in the knee joint can signal a serious illness. Read on to find out how dangerous knee pain can be.
Types of Knee Diseases
The main diseases of the knee joint can be traumatic and non-traumatic. If traumatic diseases are often treated quite simply, then non-traumatic diseases require much more time and effort.
Traumatic injuries – bruises, fractures, dislocations, ruptures, and sprains of ligaments and muscles are the easiest to define because they are caused by physical trauma. Often, traumas received years ago can cause the outbreak of various non-traumatic diseases with age.
Such diseases are chronic and acute. In the case of acute non-traumatic diseases of the knee, pain occurs quickly, and the function may be lost in a few days or even hours. Such diseases include Arthritis, Capsulitis, Bursitis, and Neuritis. And in the case of chronic diseases, the symptoms increase slowly, and the infection spreads to the surrounding tissues. These types of diseases include Arthrosis (Gonarthrosis), Tumors, Enchondromatosis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Tendinitis, Aseptic Necrosis of the condyles of the hip or lower leg, and degenerative-dystrophic diseases of cartilage and ligaments.
Avulsion and Rupture of the Meniscus
If you damage the meniscus, the stabilizing function of your knee will be lost. Sometimes you may feel a partial or complete blockage of your knee, and if the damage is severe enough, it may result in a knee dislocation. Often, the small meniscal tear can cause minor pain that goes away after a few days. Sometimes, the damaged meniscus can affect the cartilaginous tissue of your knee from the inside day after day, causing irreversible processes in the cartilage of your knee.
Ligament and Tendon Rupture
A partial tear of the knee joint ligaments (which is often called a sprain) means that only part of the fibers is damaged. The injury of the anterior, posterior (intra-articular), or lateral cruciate ligaments is called ‘the complete rupture of the knee ligament’. Such a knee injury is very painful and requires the immediate doctor’s attention.
Also, you may have a rupture of the quadriceps tendon, muscle, or kneecap fracture. The quadriceps is important for unbending the knee. It is attached to the kneecap by a special tendon. The kneecap is also connected to the tibial tuberosity by its tendon. Forced flexion of the knee with a tense quadriceps muscle can damage these tissues.
Articular and Periarticular fractures of the Knee joint
Traumatic (pathological) fractures of the hip and tibia near the knee joint (femoral and tibial condyles, fibular head), are very serious injuries with an ambiguous prognosis in treatment. Also, complications like Hemarthrosis and Gonarthrosis are possible. In the case of open-infected fractures, treatment can take several years.
Meniscus Cyst
A Meniscus cyst is a cavitary liquid formation inside the meniscus. This disease appears due to prolonged overload of the joints. In the tissues of the meniscus, a mucoid goo-like substance is formed and accumulates there over time. Later, this substance turns into a cyst. In most cases, a cyst forms at the edge of the meniscus. The main danger is that with minor loads, you may get a rupture.
Ankylosing Spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis usually affects young men. The development of pathology begins with symptoms of sciatica, generally cervical or lumbar. At certain stages of the disease, you may feel sharp shooting pain. In such cases, the poorly qualified doctor may mistakenly diagnose osteochondrosis or spinal hernia.
Tendonitis
Inflammation of the tendons may occur during active sports or physical activity with excessive load on the lower limb. The pain can be both aching and sharp. The main symptom is the suddenness of each attack. It also reduces the mobility of the knee.
Synovitis
Your knee is surrounded by a dense connective tissue capsule (bag), which, without restricting movement, ensures the integrity of the joint. The bag is covered inside with a synovial membrane that produces fluid for friction reduction and cushioning improvement while moving. Knee synovitis is an inflammation of the synovial membrane with the accumulation of exudate in the joint capsule. Often the disease can develop because of bursitis. In most cases, the main cause of the disease is trauma. Synovitis can also develop as a result of such diseases as rheumatoid arthritis and gouty arthritis.
Bursitis
If you feel knee pain for several weeks, this may be a sign of bursitis. Knee bursitis is a severe inflammation of the anatomical bags located between the bones and tendon fibers. Anatomic bags are filled with a special organic fluid (synovial fluid) and serve as airbags. They also help to ensure proper gliding of the tendon along the bone and to avoid damage to the tendon fibers. The inflammatory process without proper treatment can become chronic, with damage to other tissues.
Baker’s Cyst
The cyst may be formed as a result of the inflammatory process of the mucous inter-tendon bags inside your leg. Such inter-tendon mucous bags are one of the results of evolution, and half of the healthy people have them. The disease develops only when an inflammatory process in these bags, with an increase in size, pain, and impaired movement in the knee, begins.
Tumor
Pathological formations in the knee area are quite rare. While growing, they squeeze and deform the surrounding tissues. Therefore, at first, you may experience discomfort and a sensation of a foreign body in this area, and then pain of varying intensity. The main danger is that metastases can affect other organs.
In addition to all of the above, knee pain can manifest itself due to the irradiation of another joint (when the pathology of one joint is reflected by pain in a completely different one). For example, with coxarthrosis (arthrosis of the hip joint), pain often appears in the knee, but the problem is in a completely different joint – the hip.