Knee Pain
Knee pain - including arthritis knee pain and pain behind the knee - is the most common musculoskeletal complaint that brings people to their doctor for knee pain relief. In today’s active society, the number of knee problems is increasing. The knees are the most easily injured part of the body. They are large weight-bearing joints that bend, straighten, rotate, and twist. These joints are used for everything from standing up to sitting, walking, and running.
What are the causes of knee pain?
Knee pain has a wide variety of specific causes that include:
- Osteoarthritis: This is the most common type of knee arthritis. It is also known as wear-and-tear arthritis or degenerative joint disease. Genetic predisposition is one of the factors that can contribute to knee arthritis. Other factors include trauma to the knee, meniscus tears, ligament damage, or fractures to the bone around the joint.
- Ligament Injuries: Ligaments are made of tough fibrous material that’s critical to the stability of the knee joint and controls excessive motion by limiting the mobility in the joint. Ligament injuries that cause pain and instability commonly occur during athletic activities.
- Meniscus Tears/Cartilage Injuries: The menisci are made of tough cartilage and conform to the surfaces of the bones they rest on. This is critical to knee health because this configuration distributes bodyweight evenly across the knee joint.
Diagnosing Knee Pain
A doctor will diagnose your knee problem based on your medical history, a physical exam, and diagnostic tests. Depending on the findings of the medical history and physical exam, the doctor may use one or more tests to determine the nature of the knee problem. Some of the more commonly used tests include X-ray; CT or CAT scan; bone scan; MRI; arthroscopy; and joint aspiration.
Treating Knee Pain
Often people get knee pain relief on their own - taking over-the-counter pain relievers and resting can help. If your knee pain is due to an injury; is severe and comes on suddenly; or doesn't improve after three days (becomes chronic knee pain) contact us for further evaluation.
In addition to cutting-edge and traditional therapies, we embrace non-traditional treatments such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, meditation/relaxation, and Qui-Gong. Our goal is to return you to good health without pain.
When conservative measures fail to control pain and improve knee function, we will discuss surgery. In most cases, surgery is performed on an outpatient basis using minimally invasive procedures, which reduces pain, risk, recovery time, and expense.