Knee Injuries
Knee injuries – particularly those suffered in athletics or through trauma – often cause sudden, sharp and acute pain. Other knee injuries may be experienced as a minor tweak that causes initial swelling and chronic pain down the road.
The majority of knee injuries carry symptoms such as difficulty bending the knee, as well as stiffness or soreness when attempting to walk or stand. Serious swelling accompanied by sharp pain usually indicates a tearing of ligaments/miniscus in the knee, or even a fracture, and should be examined by a health care professional as soon as possible.
While knee injuries can vary greatly in terms of severity and treatment prognosis, a small percentage of knee injuries – particularly those caused by acute trauma – can be quite serious and may even involve several parts of the knee at the same time. While serious knee injuries may require surgery and months of rehabilitation to repair, other knee injuries may go away over time or with continuous physical therapy, while other knee injuries may continue to cause chronic pain for months, or even years on end.
Common Knee Injuries
Knee injuries are fairly common – especially in athletes – and can happen due to a direct blow or trauma, or due to a twisted or stretched out knee joint that bends in the wrong direction or too far out of the normal range of motion. For instance, the ligament can tear if the person’s knee is stressed into a direction contrary to the normal movement of the joint and that would result in a sprained knee. There are sprains that tear or those that completely rip the tendons or ligaments and these are considered to be serious injuries.
Some knee injuries are caused by the knee being overused or hyper-extended. These are called strains. It is almost like a sprain, but it actually can tear the tendon muscles, dependent upon the seriousness of the injury.
Another kind of knee injury is called bursitis and it can happen due to the knee being hit. This would cause acute inflammation and swelling. The person would also be unable to move their knee.
Knee Ligament Injuries
Knee ligament injuries are difficult to diagnose. The main kinds of knee ligament injuries include the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), the medial collateral ligament (MCL), and the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL).
If someone has injured their knee ligaments they will have sudden and bad pain, swelling, the joint will feel loose, they won’t be able to stand on it, and they may hear a pop or snap. These injuries can linger for years if not treated quickly and effectively. Sometimes they can go out again in the future if they were not corrected properly.
Doctors will diagnose a ligament knee injury with an MRI or X-rays. Depending on the problem, you will need to rest your knee and possibly use crutches, plus the doctor will normally have you ice the knee injury to help get rid of the pain or swelling for at least two or three days, and they may also bind it with an elastic ace bandage to reduce the swelling.
It’s best to elevate your knee and take NSAIDS for the pain and inflammation. Later, your doctor will give you exercises to do in order to get the strength back in your knee as you undergo physical therapy. If it is badly damaged, however, you may have to undergo surgery to repair it. Recovery from a knee ligament injury varies.
Knee Injuries MCL
MCL knee injuries can be due to the knee suffering a direct blow to the outside of the knee such as in some sports injuries. The medial collateral ligament (MCL) is one of four knee ligaments vital to the knee’s stability. The MCL goes from the end of the thigh bone to the top of the shin bone. It is on the inside of the person’s knee joint. It is susceptible to injury because it is on the outside of the knee joint and so can be easily hit. These causes the person’s knee to buckle and possible tear the MCL or stretch it out too far. It can happen by itself or be in combination with other knee injuries.
If someone has injured their MCL, they will have pain, bruising, and the joint will swell. There are several types of MCL injuries. These include a scale of one to three depending on how badly the MCL is torn. A grade one MCL injury is when the tear is incomplete and takes about two weeks to heal; a grade two is also an incomplete tear and takes about a month to heal, and a grade three is when the tear is total and it can take more than six weeks to heal. Surgery is not usually done with an MCL tear type of injury.
Knee Meniscus Injury
A knee meniscus injury is when the knee cartridge is torn. Normally, the meniscus is like a shock absorber for the knee. If this is damaged due to a twisting motion, or other type of injury, this can be torn. It happens a lot in athletic injuries, such as in football if someone is tackled.
If someone has weak cartilage it can also lead to a meniscus injury due to a degenerative problem. These are very common injuries. One of the main symptoms is pain when walking up stairs. The victim may also hear a popping or snapping noise coming from their injured knee or the knee may lock up and buckle, causing them to fall.
Knee Injuries From Running
Runners are at high risk for knee injuries. There is even a specific type of knee injury common to runners that is named after them and is known as runner’s knee. This is usually referring to pain in the front of the knee, but can also occur in other areas of the knee as well. Another type of runner’s knee injury is a type of overuse injury to the iliotibial band, which runs along the outside of the knee joint.
The symptoms of a running knee injury are usually a dislocated kneecap, weakness or tightness, or even pain in the back or hip that is actually related to the knee injury. The knee may also be out of alignment with the leg.
All in all, knee injuries can run from minor to very serious. Some may only need rest and icing, while others may need surgery. If you have suffered a knee injury, it should be checked out by your doctor to rule out a serious injury, as fixing a knee injury quickly can prevent future knee problems.