Movement is life. But you won't get far on straight legs. Every third person on the planet experiences knee pain, regardless of age. Medical statistics are disappointing:
- the number of causes of knee discomfort exceeds 200;
- 80% of people over 50 years old have problems with the musculoskeletal system;
- The percentage of people with arthritis in Russia is increasing by 1% per year.
The knee is a complex mechanism. Thanks to him, a person makes dozens of different movements. We walk, run, go down the stairs, go to the gym. This puts stress on the knees. With age, the cartilage surface of the joint wears away, causing inflammation and pain. If you've gained extra pounds, don't move much, don't drink enough clean water, or get too cold, you're accelerating the natural wear and tear process. Injuries due to increased physical activity and chronic pathologies of the musculoskeletal system are additional risk factors.
Knee pain causes a lot of inconvenience. It’s hard to walk, it’s painful to bend your leg. The joints crack and swell, the discomfort prevents you from sleeping, and anesthetics do not help. These symptoms poison life, make a person suffer, and interfere with normal movement and exercise.
If you are suffering from knee pain that you are tired of putting up with, contact the Innovative Medical Center - our doctors will restore the mobility of the knee joint and help you return to your usual physical activity, to movement without pain!
Myth 2: If your knee hurts, it needs rest.
Of course, you cannot engage in active sports if you have acute pain. With arthrosis, there is usually a slight inflammation in the knee, so the pain makes itself felt when walking, going down, or going up stairs. Painkillers and intra-articular injections of the Noltrex synovial fluid prosthesis can be dealt with, but not immobilization.
During movements, blood circulation is activated - the joint receives the necessary nutrition and oxygen. If this does not happen, it will wear out even faster. For arthrosis, you should select special exercises with minimal load on the damaged joint, relieve pain, but under no circumstances go to “bed rest”.
Exercise therapy for arthrosis is designed with minimal load on the damaged joint
Myth 3. Destroyed cartilage can be restored with medications.
Today, many drugs are advertised that supposedly restore cartilage. They contain cartilage components chondroitin and glucosamine. However, their action is not enough to compensate for the daily loss of cartilage cells. It turns out that for this purpose you need to take chondroprotectors for life and in huge doses. Specialists from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons emphasize the lack of evidence of their effectiveness. Although there may be exceptions.
The thickness of healthy cartilage is only a few millimeters
Center staff
The main advantage of the clinic is its team of highly qualified specialists:
Bogdanov Vadim Yurievich
Chief traumatologist-orthopedist Experience 15 years
Read more
Ronami Valery Guseinovich
Neurologist, professor, doctor of medical sciences 35 years of experience
Read more
Patient reviews confirm the quality of the work of the Center team - read and watch the reviews.
Myth 4. Hyaluronic acid quickly relieves pain.
Hyaluronic acid is another component of cartilage. Sodium hyaluronate serves as the basis for cartilage tissue, protects its surface from destruction, and acts as a lubricant. Preparations based on hyaluronic acid are injected into the joint in courses - several injections with a week break. The goal of this treatment for osteoarthritis is to restore the deficiency of synovial fluid (lubrication) and stop friction.
The effect is achieved in several injections - you should not expect quick pain relief. It is also a mistake to believe that hyaluronic acid can completely cure knee pain. It is impossible to cure arthrosis, but with the help of this technique it is possible to take control of the destructive processes in the joints.
To prevent possible allergic reactions and side effects, many orthopedists recommend using its synthetic analogue, Noltrex, with a higher molecular weight, instead of sodium hyaluronate. The drug lasts longer because it takes longer to break down.
Intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid do not provide immediate pain relief
Possible diseases
When sitting for a long time and after performing loads, pain in the joint occurs in many patients. The problem may be caused by the following diseases:
- arthritis - inflammation of various etiologies;
- arthrosis is a process in which destruction of intra-articular structures occurs;
- meniscopathy - inflammation and subsequent destruction of the menisci;
- Patellar luxation is a disease associated with muscle weakness and caused by injury or dystrophy;
- tendinitis - inflammatory disease of the tendons;
- chondromatosis is a dystrophic disease in which part of the cartilage tissue is converted into bone;
- bursitis - inflammation of the periarticular capsule;
- Plick syndrome is a pathology characterized by twisting or thickening of the ligaments;
- Becker's cyst - a benign formation under the knee;
- osteochondritis dissecans - partial necrosis of joint tissue;
- Hoffa's disease is a pathology in which the fatty tissue of the pterygoid folds of the knee becomes inflamed.
These are just some of the disorders that can cause aching pain. Discomfort may occur when trying to bend the knee, when increasing the load, or even after sitting on a chair.
Myth 5. Stem cells can cure arthrosis and get rid of knee pain forever.
Scientists around the world are conducting research and looking for a way to restore cartilage using stem cells. So far this has not been possible, but it is quite possible that this will happen soon. Even in this case, stem cells will not stop the development of osteoarthritis. They will only save a person from focal damage to the cartilage. If the cartilage is very worn out, the only method is joint replacement.
If your knee hurts at least sometimes, it’s worth considering. If you already have gonarthrosis, you need to be doubly careful. How not to start the disease? Simple tips from an expert:
How to relieve pain
Although there are many ways to eliminate pain, after relief of the condition, you still need to immediately consult a specialist.
Pain can be relieved by applying compresses and warming rubs:
- based on bitter pepper tincture;
- from the alcohol composition of the golden mustache;
- from burdock and horseradish.
For a compress, mix 1 tsp. salt and soda, adding 7 drops of iodine. Warm up the knee and apply the prepared mixture to it. Wrap in cellophane for 15 minutes and then rinse. Improvements occur after 5 procedures.
Myth 6. Getting an artificial joint will permanently relieve knee pain.
The strength of cartilage varies from person to person and is determined by genetic factors. Some people are limping at the age of 50, while others can walk calmly without a cane at 80. If you have a tendency to arthrosis, it will certainly develop. All therapeutic methods eliminate only the consequences, but do not affect the cause. Even if you install an artificial joint, degenerative processes will still progress in the joints, caused, for example, by hormonal imbalance, metabolic disorders or genetics.
Joint replacement often causes complications and requires serious rehabilitation. Sometimes, even after its installation, knee pain persists, and no doctor can tell you how long the structure will last. Therefore, this operation should not be considered a panacea. It is more correct to preserve the “native” joint as long as possible. You can extend his life and get rid of pain with the help of Noltrex injections - a synovial fluid prosthesis.
Sometimes after endoprosthetics the knee hurts even more
Why should you contact the Innovative Medical Center?
The operating principle of the Center is an integrated approach to diagnosis and treatment, which is as follows:
The decision on treatment is made not by one highly specialized doctor, but by a team: traumatologist, neurologist, surgeon, osteopath, chiropractor. They develop a comprehensive patient recovery program and jointly monitor the dynamics of the patient’s recovery.
The unique treatment method combines kinesitherapy with physiotherapy, osteopathy, manual and shock wave therapy, and acupuncture. How does this technique work?
Our doctors find the cause, block the pain and remove the swelling. For this, the clinic uses: the blockade method, the injection of hyaluronic acids and platelet-rich plasma into the shoulder joint, as well as the unique Khivamat-200 device. It acts on the source of inflammation with an electrostatic field, improves lymph flow, stimulates tissue nutrition, and has an anti-inflammatory effect.
One of the stages of knee joint recovery is training in the Center’s hall, with an area of 250 m2, which is equipped with modern decompression simulators. All classes are supervised by a kinesiotherapist and experienced instructors.
The result of this approach to treatment is a positive effect after the first procedures, rapid recovery and a return to life without surgery.
Myth 7. Knee pain due to arthrosis is the lot of older people.
Today, knee pain is increasingly a concern for young people, especially those who enjoy outdoor activities or play sports. The disease is “getting younger”; post-traumatic arthrosis is becoming more common, for example, after damage to the cruciate anterior ligament in football players, handball players, etc. Of course, the disease predominates in people over fifty, but many young people are also at risk. Thus, you can get arthrosis of the elbow or shoulder if you regularly engage in the same type of activity, and this is precisely the lot of young people.
Myth 8. If there is pain under the knee, it is a Baker's cyst.
Many people make this diagnosis for themselves when they experience pain under the knee. Let's look at what happens in the case of a cyst. At the back of the knee are muscle tendons covered with a thin layer of lubricant. Tendons are located in channels in which they slide during movements. Sometimes a channel forms between the joint and the sheath, and fluid flows out and swells the sheath. A bag with a viscous fluid is formed - a cyst.
This pathology occurs in people of any age, even small children. If it is small, you can do without treatment; large cysts are removed. The formation will put pressure on the nerves and blood vessels and may burst. The cyst has nothing to do with arthrosis.
Most often, pain under the knee occurs with osteoarthritis of the knee or osteochondrosis of the spine. The cyst is not detected. The cause of pain is spasms of muscle vessels or transmission of nerve impulses from the lower back. In young people, pain is accompanied by damage to the posterior meniscus or anterior cruciate ligament. In this case, the popliteal muscles perform functions unusual for them and become overworked.
Pain under the knee often occurs with gonarthrosis
Causes of pain
Pain in the knee joint occurs frequently. This is due to the fact that the knee experiences stable high loads. This area is more likely to be injured than others.
The musculoskeletal system in the knee area consists of ligaments, cartilage, bones and joint capsules. The source of pain can be any of these elements. In addition to pain, patients note tissue swelling, redness and changes in local body temperature.
The following reasons can provoke pain during bending or after a long stay in a sitting position:
- past injuries;
- meniscus tear;
- joint dislocation;
- ligament rupture;
- stretching;
- fracture;
- displacement of the knee joint.
Pain may occur after severe physical exertion. Frequent cycling, jogging long distances and walking up stairs at a fast pace can cause inflammation.
Myth 9. If your knee hurts, your knee needs to be treated.
This does not always happen. Sometimes, after diagnosis, the patient is surprised to discover that his knee joints are healthy. Orthopedists say: if your knee hurts, check your hip joint. With arthrosis of the hip joint, the pain radiates to the knee, while the damaged joint may not bother you at all.
Sometimes back problems lead to knee pain, for example, due to herniated discs between the lumbar vertebrae, nerves are compressed. There are other reasons, including gynecological ones, such as pelvic inflammation. Very often the knee hurts due to compression of the sensory nerve between the thigh muscles. This condition is diagnosed when the inside of the knee hurts, the pain is burning and does not go away after taking painkillers.
Knee pain often occurs with systemic diseases - psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis. Its cause is inflammation in the joint, which, despite the absence of injury or wear, quickly leads to the destruction of cartilage. There have been cases when knee pain occurred against the background of reactive arthritis caused by genitourinary tract infections. Therefore, when visiting an orthopedist, you should not hide any clinical symptoms in order to obtain an accurate diagnosis.
The knee joint is a complex system. Even experienced orthopedic doctors cannot always determine the cause of pain in it. Therefore, take care of your knees, do not ignore pain and discomfort, because who knows what is hidden behind this symptom - ordinary fatigue, a systemic disease or incurable gonarthrosis.
Reason to see a doctor
If your knees hurt when you have to sit for a long time, such symptoms cannot be ignored.
You should immediately consult a doctor if:
- aching pain lasts more than 2-3 weeks;
- unexpected sharp pain occurs;
- the knee joint crunches;
- it hurts to get to your feet after sitting for a long time;
- high temperature rises;
- the knee begins to swell or swell.
First of all, you need to contact a therapist, who, after a general examination, will refer you to specialized specialists.
