The most common diseases of the knees

The knee is a large and complexly arranged joint of the human body, which has a heavy load. Quite often he is traumatized and suffers from various diseases. Almost every person has experienced knee pain at least once in his life, so you can imagine how painful is the sense of restriction of mobility in the lower extremities.

Many diseases of the knees of the legs have similar symptoms, but the causes for all are different. Only a qualified doctor can make the correct diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment. Consider the most common diseases of knee joints, the causes of their occurrence and treatment.

Causes of diseases

Bruises, injuries, sprains and many other diseases of the joints of the legs of the knees at least once in the life of every person. Acute pain can provoke one awkward movement when doing summer work or cleaning the house, and in childhood, probably, everyone broke their knees. All this subsequently leads to the emergence of a variety of diseases that lead to changes in the tissues of the joint, an inflammatory process of an infectious nature, a violation of metabolic processes.

Disturbance of blood circulation of the knee joint can occur as a result of uneven growth of blood vessels, usually occurring in adolescence. Since the growth of the body, organs and systems do not succeed one after another, there is an imbalance that causes disturbances in the knee joint work.

Acute and chronic diseases of the elbow, hip and other joints are able to go to the knee. In this case, a doctor's consultation is required, because such a state is quite capable of leading to disability.

The most dangerous cause of knee illness is infections that are asymptomatic in the body. The person does not experience any discomfort, and when the inflammatory process loudly declares itself, it is often too late. Therefore, you need to be very careful about your joints in order to avoid treatment, and not always effective.

Symptoms

Diseases of the knees and their symptoms are different. Some people immediately run to the doctor after they receive minor scratches on the knee joints, afraid to get complications. Others can suffer pain for a long time, and they get to the hospital when they can not move normally anymore. Therefore, experts advise you to contact your doctor as soon as possible when the following symptoms appear:

• Incessant acute or aching pain in the knee joint;
• Compaction or swelling in the knee region;
• Impaired mobility of the joint;
• Crunching and clicking in the knee joint region.

Features of inflammatory and dystrophic diseases

Pain in the knee with arthritis, bursitis and tendonitis is often accompanied by an increase in body temperature, because such diseases are inflammatory. The region of the knee or its separate part begins to swell, becomes hot, and if you press it, then there is a lot of pain. In addition, the body temperature rises and other symptoms appear that are peculiar to the inflammatory process. Such signs are determined by a general blood test. Usually inflammatory diseases have an acute onset of their development.

Dystrophic diseases (osteoarthritis, tendopathy, arthrosis, meniscopathy and others) are usually congenital or hereditary and always develop gradually. They can also occur due to chronic joint pathologies or metabolic disorders. Such diseases of the knees usually have a chronic course with an increase in symptoms. They last for years with alternating periods of exacerbations and remissions. Treatment of these pathologies is quite long.

Consider the most common diseases of the knee joint

Arthritis and arthrosis

These two diseases of the human knee have a similar clinical picture, but differ in nature.

Osteoarthritis is characterized by a dystrophic lesion of cartilage tissue. It is premature and arises from hereditary predisposition, excessive physical exertion, and perhaps age. Most knee arthrosis disease affects the elderly, because pain is usually associated with age-related wear of cartilage tissue.

Arthritis can occur both in elderly people and in young people. This is the most common chronic disease of the knee joint. Rheumatoid arthritis is usually accompanied by autoimmune processes. The disease can occur in acute and chronic forms. Usually pathology is chronic and lasts for years, often leading to disability.

Signs of arthritis:

• The knee joint becomes inactive;
• There is redness of the skin at the site of inflammation;
• There is swelling and swelling of the knee;
• There is pain when moving in the knee joint.

Bursitis

Diseases of the knees can develop as a result of various injuries of the musculoskeletal system. This causes inflammation of the tendon or joint capsule. Bursitis is often characterized as a complication of arthritis, when infection occurs from the joint cavity to the articular capsule itself. And it happens the other way round, when bursitis causes the development of arthritis.

The pain with this disease is pronounced, constant and appears even without movement in the joint, because the inflammatory fluid or pus stretches the capsule and affects its nerve endings. A large accumulation of fluid causes severe pain. Bursitis of small tendon capsules may be called cyst. The pain in this case is not very strong, but it is acute and appears in a certain place. In the area of the lesion under the skin, you can feel the cone.

Tendonitis

This is an inflammation of the ligaments and tendons, the cause of which is the incorrect formation of the tendon of the knee or their weakness. In the affected area there is pain and swelling. Strengthening of the painful syndrome occurs due to muscle contraction, as well as when flexing and bending the knee. Usually, pain is given to the muscles of the lower leg or thigh.

Dissecting osteochondritis

With such a disease, any part of the cartilage begins to separate from the adjacent bone and is displaced into the joint cavity. The causes of this pathological condition have not been fully revealed. This disease is usually amazed by young people and initially manifests a mild aching pain in the knee joint. With physical exertion and after them, it intensifies. After a while, the pathology begins to progress, joint swelling arises, and pain increases.

Chondropathy, meniscopathy, tendopathy

Such diseases of knee joints are characterized by a dystrophic and post-traumatic non-inflammatory lesion of the tissues of the knee joint. They can arise on their own, but most often accompany arthrosis. At the very beginning of their development, these pathologies rarely cause discomfort, so patients get to the doctor with an already started disease. From arthrosis, such diseases are characterized by a narrower localization, affecting either meniscus or cartilage, or ligaments, tendons and other joint structures. Often this pathology is found in athletes.

Such diseases of the knees have the following symptoms:

• Pain when flexing or flexing the leg;
• If you step on a sick leg, it involuntarily bends;
• Crunch in the affected joint.

The exact diagnosis for clinical manifestations is very difficult to perform and this requires a survey such as x-ray of the knee, magnetic resonance and computed tomography, arthroscopy.

Osgood-Schlatter disease

Some diseases of the knees can occur only in a certain category of the population, for example, adolescents. They may have Osgood-Schlatter disease (osteochondrosis of the tibia). Strengthening pain and swelling occurs during running or jumping, but at rest decreases. Often pathology affects adolescents engaged in basketball, hockey, gymnastics, football, volleyball, figure skating, ballet.

Usually, the disease affects only one joint, and a painful lump appears at the bottom of the patella. Progressive osteochondrosis of the tibia begins during puberty, as the child at this time is growing rapidly. Males are usually ill at the age of 13 years.

Other disorders of knee joints

There are quite a few diseases of the knee joint, some of which are rare. These include:

• Synovitis. In this case, inflammation of the synovial membrane occurs, which leads to the accumulation of fluid in the joint cavity.
• Articular mouse. The fragment is located freely in the joint cavity and causes severe pain, as well as problems with movement.
• Vascular pain. They arise as a result of problems with blood circulation.
• Hoff's disease. In the knee joint inflammation of fatty tissue occurs.
• Chondromalation of patella. With this pathology, the cartilaginous tissue is damaged in the patella.
• Gout. It is a severe degree of arthritis, when the deposit of uric acid crystals occurs in the knee joint.

This is just a small list of diseases that occur in the knee area. All of them have common symptoms: puffiness, pain, redness, so their treatment has similar moments.

Diseases of the knee joints: treatment

If the doctor after the examination has put the correct diagnosis, then the next step will be the appointment of competent treatment. The main thing is to eliminate the cause of pain and restore the function and structure of the joint tissues. Complex therapy is represented by anti-inflammatory drugs, chondroprotectors, and also drugs that increase immunity. In addition, if there is a disease of the knee joints, the treatment includes physiotherapy, a therapeutic diet, manual therapy, massage, physical therapy.

The knee joints have a heavy load. They take part in movements and sustain the weight of a person. People with excess weight often suffer from knee joint diseases. If the doctor has prescribed a special diet for the patient, then in this case it is forbidden to eat sweet, flour, spicy, spicy and salty dishes. With a decrease in weight, the pain in the knees also decreases.

During treatment it is important to perform therapeutic gymnastics. A striking result is the exercise done in the water. Such a comprehensive effect on the muscles improves blood circulation in the tissues of the cartilage of the joint. Therapeutic gymnastics must be continued after the improvement of the condition for preventive purposes.

Physiotherapy

If there are knee diseases, the treatment may include physiotherapy. Such procedures are necessary to strengthen the muscles of the injured knee, and their condition becomes more stable. Often, doctors prescribe classes on a stationary bike, which are held in the gym.

If the inflammation in the knee joint only begins to develop, you should perform as many movements for the diseased knee. Then pay attention to the exercises for the hips and lower legs, gradually increasing the load. When the patient begins to recover, they begin to perform exercises aimed at all muscle groups.

To cure any disease of the knee joint, physiotherapy is necessary to spend a whole month for two hours a day. If this is not enough, then the treatment is extended for another month. Depending on the type of pathology and degree of neglect, the doctor determines the duration of the sessions. At the end of the course, to prevent the disease, it is recommended that you continue to perform certain exercises.

Operative intervention

As already mentioned, problems with knee joints require complex treatment. Some situations involve surgical intervention. It is interesting that doctors prohibit the operation until the swelling and swelling of the knee joint is gone. Therefore, first procedures are performed that eliminate such symptoms, and then only perform a surgical procedure.

Conclusion

Thus, it is important to identify the cause of the knee disease in a timely manner, since a neglected pathology sometimes leads to disability. It is impossible to allow the transition of the disease to a chronic form, because in this case the treatment will take much longer. When the first symptoms of the disease appear, seek medical help as soon as possible.