The 10 Most Common Causes Of Knee Pain
Knee pain afflicts many, though the causes and nature of the discomfort vary greatly. The pain can be localized or diffuse throughout the knee, and can range from a continual throbbing to tenderness felt only with pressure and weight bearing. Usually, diagnosis of the underlying cause requires a physical examination and medical imaging.
What Does Osteoarthritis Have To Do With My Ms
One of my more noticeable MS symptoms is spasticity. It is something I spend a lot of time trying to manage through medication, modified activity, intentional stretching, and gentle movement. Ive found that cycling has helped both my spasticity and the arthritis in my knees in recent years. Additional MS symptoms that fluctuate include weakness in the legs and impaired balance. A portion of the testing for these symptoms include gait analysis.
Potential Outcomes Of Knee Surgery For People With Ms
In searching for relevant information in anticipation of almost certain total knee replacement in the future, I did find one research paper published in the International Journal of MS Care in 2018 that discusses outcomes in patients with MS who underwent knee or hip replacement. The number of retrospective cases analyzed was small with only 30 patients.1
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Multiple Sclerosis Pain Management In North Dakota
If youre looking for relief from the pain associated with MS, the compassionate, talented, and highly-skilled physicians and staff at The Bone & Joint Center are happy to help. We also have a physical therapy program that includes stretching and endurance exercises, massage, temperature therapy, ultrasound, and electrical muscle stimulation many of which can help you get relief.
Make an appointment today by calling The Bone & Joint Center at 946-7400 / 900-8650 or request an appointment now. We look forward to hearing from you.
Would These Patients Recommend Surgery To Others
These are small patient numbers but it is helpful to me to understand what other patients have experienced. When asked if they would recommend surgery to other patients with similar circumstances, 70% responded that they would recommend it, 15% would not, and 15% were unsure. Im not sure whether to be encouraged by this information or discouraged.1
A final point that the researchers made is that further studies are needed to optimize patient selection and operative techniques in patients with MS who are candidates for hip or knee replacement.1
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Multiple Sclerosis As A Cause For Hip Pain
MS is not exempt from the list of all the conditions that can generate pain in the hips.
However, the question is if pain from multiple sclerosis feels different from more common causes of pain in this joint area.
Does it have a unique sensation when compared to other causes of hip pain such as rheumatoid arthritis, a pinched nerve and a bone infection?
Hip pain related to MS does not necessarily feel different from hip pain related to other causes, says Mitzi J. Williams, MD, clinical neurologist with Morehouse School of Medicine, an MS specialist and clinical advisor for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.
MS does not directly affect the joints, so the pain that people experience can be related to spasticity of the muscles near the hip joint or related to the way that they walk because of weakness or imbalance from their MS, explains Dr. Williams.
Spasticity is a common result of multiple sclerosis, which is an autoimmune disease .
Spasticity is when the muscles are in a continuous state of contraction. This leads to stiffness and tightness which can then generate discomfort.
Essentially when they walk unevenly or have poor posture due to weakness, they compensate on the stronger side, resulting in increased stress on the hip and pain, says Dr. Williams.
Theres also always the possibility that a person with MS can have hip pain from an entirely unrelated cause.
Early Warning Signs Of Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis, like a lot of the other autoimmune diseases, has a range of symptoms.
The symptoms and their severity that fluctuates from person to person. Some of the more common early warning signs include tingling and numbness in different parts of your body.
A person might feel like an electrical current is running down their arm, legs or neck. Someone, they might have a generalized weakness.
A person might experience difficulty with walking. They may have blurry vision and sometimes they might see double.
They can have urinary urgency, or perhaps difficulty when they begin urinating.
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Living With Multiple Sclerosis
MS is a chronic illness with no known cure. However, a diagnosis is not a death sentence. There are ways for you manage the condition, so you can live a worthwhile and fulfilling life.
Here are some useful tips on how you can live an enjoyable and meaningful life with MS.
Eating To Reduce Symptoms
Your daily diet should include 3 cups of colorful fruits and vegetables a day. These foods are loaded with antioxidants which help boost your immune system.
Some examples include peaches, sweet potatoes, cranberries, oranges, carrots, beets, all the berries, and peppers,
A Paleo diet also includes three cups of green leafy vegetables a day. They have a large amount of vitamin ACK and B vitamin.
Include three cups of sulfur-rich vegetables. Sulfur helps reduce harmful toxins and it helps with neurotransmitters producing.
Some of them include onion, cabbage, cauliflower, mushrooms, broccoli, asparagus, and turnips.
At each meal, you should include fish like salmon or herring, for the omega 3. You should also meat from a grass-fed animal. These animals arent full of toxins.
When you cook your food be sure to use an oil that isnt full of trans and saturated fats. Some of them might include flax, coconut, hemp, or olive oil.
Its also suggested to eat seaweed and organ meat once a week.
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Medicines To The Rescue
A doctor might also prescribe medicine to help with the muscle spasms. Some of them might include a variety of muscle relaxant, like baclofen or Zanaflex.
He might prescribe a central nervous system depressant like Valium, or other benzodiazepines.
This is to slow down the central nervous system activity, which will decrease muscle spasms and pain.
Sometimes a doctor might suggest you should have a pump implant. This pump would continually deliver an appropriate amount of medicine, which would reduce your symptoms.
Sometimes a doctor might decide to inject a substance known as Botox in your muscles, to help them relax.
What Else Can I Do About Pain Related To Multiple Sclerosis
Regular exercise and stretching do reduce certain kinds of pain, particularly back pain and muscular pain. Such activities also help with fatigue and increase a sense of well-being. Trying to get restful sleep is also important when fighting pain. Some people find that alternative pain management strategies such as acupuncture, cognitive behavioral therapy, and psychophysiological pain and stress management techniques such as biofeedback, relaxation training and self-hypnosis are useful.
If pain is hard to control, a formal pain management program may be useful. If you are on pain medications, make sure you have a good bowel regimen as constipation is common and will only increase the discomfort you are feeling.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 01/28/2019.
References
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Physical Therapy Can Help You Move Comfortably
Do you ever worry that your knees will give out from beneath you while standing? Do you have trouble sleeping or getting out of bed in the morning because of hip pain? If so, know that you are not alone hip and knee pain is very common!
Hip and knee pain can seriously disrupt your life, especially if you have both at the same time. You may believe that the only way to relieve your pain is to take over-the-counter medications. However, physical therapy is a more effective option!
Whether you have hip pain, knee pain, or both, physical therapy can help you get to the bottom of your problem safely and comfortably, without the use of harmful drugs or surgery. To get back to a healthy, active lifestyle, schedule an appointment with Southern Physical Therapy Clinic today!
Are You Really Having Toe Pain Or Something Else
Dr. Williams says, When people refer to foot pain it most commonly is due to numbness and tingling. It can also be related to spasms or cramping in the toes.
In addition, there can be a burning sensation in the toes as well. When describing some kind of discomfort in a toe to your doctor, its important that you be more specific than generic.
If its tingling, then say its tingling. If a toe or two is numb or feels crampy, then say that, rather than just the generic term of pain, since all of these sensations do have different processes of possible causes behind them.
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Nerve And Musculoskeletal Issues May Be To Blame
Joint pain, specifically in the knees and hips, is very common in people with multiple sclerosis . It is usually due to a nerve-related or muscle-related manifestation of MS rather than degeneration of cartilage or inflammation of the joints, as seen in rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, or lupus.
How Can I Manage Pain Myself
There is plenty you can try to see if it helps. Everyone is different so you may need to try a range of different options before you find what works best for you. You may need to do several at once for the best effect. Some people prefer these approaches to drug treatments as there is less worry about side effects.
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What Can I Do If I Have Pain
You can manage your pain using drug treatments or other therapies, such as physiotherapy. Sometimes a combination of drugs or other treatments works best. Not all pain requires treatment, it depends on how much effect it is having on your life.
Managing pain may include learning coping strategies or making changes to everyday life so that pain has less impact on you. It is important to manage your pain as well as possible or you may lose sleep or become understandably irritable, angry or depressed.
In addition, other things that are happening in your life can make the pain feel better or worse so it is important to manage stress, get support and be as positive as possible about managing your pain. Like many MS symptoms, heat sensitivity or, sometimes, cold sensitivity can make pain worse. So can fatigue, lack of sleep, feeling isolated or depressed.
If you are concerned about your pain, contact your MS nurse orneurologistdirectly or ask your GP to refer you for assessment.
Examples Of Musculoskeletal Pain Are:
- Hip and back pain caused by alterations in how you walk due to MS, possibly because of muscle stiffness , weakness or problems with balance.
- Back pain due to sitting for long periods because of fatigue, walking difficulties or inability to stand for long.
- Muscle or joint pain due to changes in posture, spasms or muscle stiffness
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Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury
The anterior cruciate ligament or ACL is among the four ligaments that unite the shin bone with the thigh bone. ACL injury can cause severe knee pain. Generally, partial or complete over-stretching of the ligament leads to the injury. Abruptly shifting direction while running, walking, or playing sports such as soccer and basketball can trigger an ACL injury. A “popping” sound can accompany the event, and the knee will usually swell over the next hours.
Coping With And Preventing Musculoskeletal Leg And Hip Pain
Exercise is invaluable to multiple sclerosis patients. Without exercise the pain and causes of the pain will get worse and could lead to complete immobility. When a patientâs movement is heavily restricted due to multiple sclerosis it is even more important to get moving. The patient will need to work twice as hard to maintain their mobility. Multiple sclerosis patients need to perform a variety of exercises to stay as mobile and pain free as possible. They will need to perform cardiovascular exercise, strength training exercises and flexibility exercises regularly. Stretching can also be used as a leg and hip pain relief method. If their legs or hips are particularly stiff, stretching the associated muscles can help to relieve stiffness and spasticity.
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Problems With Thinking Learning And Planning
Some people with MS have problems with thinking, learning and planning, known as cognitive dysfunction.
This can include:
- getting stuck on words
- problems with understanding and processing visual information, such as reading a map
- difficulty with planning and problem solving people often report that they know what they want to do, but can’t grasp how to do it
- problems with reasoning, such as mathematical laws or solving puzzles
But many of these problems aren’t specific to MS and can be caused by a wide range of other conditions, including depression and anxiety, or even some medicines.
How Is Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosed
A neurologist will also look at your personal medical history and the family medical history because MS is thought to be genetic.
Hell ask you to move your arms and legs first, Hell then move your extremities. This is called active and passive range of motion.
This is to find out how well youre able to move your arms and legs, without causing pain.
A doctor might do a series of tests to make a diagnosis. Some of them might include MRI, spinal tap and evoked potential.
A doctor will use an MRI to take pictures of your brain and spinal cord, to establish the presence of a lesson.
Hell check for other abnormalities in these areas as well. If the doctors really concerned he might inject a metallic dye into your system.
This substance will leak around the abnormalities. In addition, he will check for volume loss due to atrophy.
If he diagnoses you with MS then its likely he will repeat this test periodically, to see how the disease and treatment are progressing.
Your neurologist might drain a little fluid off of your spinal cord, to see if it contains white blood cells. He will also check for the oligoclonal band, to determine how well your immune system is doing.
The Evoked potential is when a neurologist stimulates your nervous system by using either checkerboard pictures or clicking sounds.
He will then record how your nervous system reacts. This recording is usually taken from the nerves in the arms and legs.
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When & How To Seek Medical Care
It is important to seek medical care when spasticity is experienced for the first time with no known cause, the spasticity is worsening and becoming more frequent, pain is experienced due to stiff joints and muscles or the condition is preventing performance of everyday tasks. Prolonged and untreated spasticity can lead to frozen joints and/or pressure sores on the skin, which are very painful. Begin by contacting your primary care doctor, who may refer you for further testing or physical therapy.
Does Pain Occur In Multiple Sclerosis
In the past, pain was not thought of as a symptom of multiple sclerosis . While neurologists accepted numbness, tingling, itching, and other sensory symptoms as occurring in the MS patient, they often did not recognize pain as part of the spectrum of symptoms of MS.
Over the past few years physicians have come to realize that pain is not only possible as a symptom of MS, but that in some patients, pain is a key symptom. It can be a major cause of reduced function, decreased sense of well-being, and an important target for treatment. In some studies, up to one in four people with MS have ongoing pain which in some way affects their function.
Psychosocial variables have long been shown to have a significant impact on pain perception, and in turn disability due to pain.
Specifically, the intensity of the pain, the degree to which it interferes with activities, the extent to which it disrupts mood, and predict chronicity of pain. Identification of the presence of such possible co-morbid problems can guide appropriate early intervention.
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Various Causes Of Ms Knees
The knee pain endured by multiple sclerosis patients is often the result of an uneven gait. Multiple sclerosis patients who develop an uneven gait do so because the development of lesions in their nervous tissue has significantly hindered their ability to walk normally. These patients may have vertigo and balance problems, which make it difficult for them to remain upright. They may also have poor coordination.
Some patients experience spasticity as their primary problem. Spasticity entails the continued contraction of certain muscles, and the patients inability to voluntarily make those muscles relax. When the leg muscles are spastic, it becomes impossible to walk unless the patient has the help of anti-spasticity medication and, in some cases, devices such as braces and canes. The medication helps to relax the muscles. As for the walking aids, they provide the patients with much needed support. In this way, they help to reduce the pain and injury associated with spasticity-induced MS knees. However, it is important to note that, even with medication and walking aids, patients are bound to have a limp or an uneven gait. Another MS-related cause of knee pain is the development of numbness and tingling in the feet. Understandably, these symptoms can cause an MS patient to lose balance and to have coordination problems, and these latter issues can contribute to knee pain. Muscle weakness is another MS symptom that has the capacity to contribute to knee pain in patients.