Treatments For Pain In The Back Of Your Knee
Healthcare providers usually treat pain in the back of your knee based on the underlying cause of the pain or injury.
Rest, ice, compression, and elevation
If you have sudden, intense pain in the back of your knee, the doctor may recommend that you rest and apply ice to your knee. In some cases, your doctor may also ask you to elevate your leg while youre sitting down to help improve the blood flow in your leg.
Exercise and physical therapy
Some exercises can help build muscle and relieve pain in the back of your knee. It is important to work with your doctor or physical therapist to determine which exercises are right for you so you can avoid potential injury.
Lifestyle changes
Your doctor may ask you to make some lifestyle changes to help relieve pain in the back of your knee. This could include things like maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding activities like running or placing too much pressure on the knees.
Genicular nerve blocks
This medical treatment blocks pain signals between the knee and the brain, which offers relief from pain in the back of your knee. This is a nonsurgical option done by injecting an anesthetic into the affected area.
Peripheral nerve stimulation
This is a medical procedure where a surgeon puts electrodes and a battery pack near the nerves inside the knee. This creates an electrical current that tricks the body into turning off pain signals, which relieves pain in and around the knee.
Medication
Surgery
How Effective Are Krill Oil Supplements For Knee Pain
Krill oil supplements can produce a significant improvement in knee pain and knee stiffness within a week. Krill oil supplements have also been shown to reduce the amount of pain-killing rescue medication such as paracetamol and ibuprofen needed.
A study involving 50 people with knee joint pain compared the effects of taking either 2g krill oil per day, or an identical placebo, for one month. Those taking krill oil showed more improvements in knee pain and stiffness than those taking placebo and, when other factors such as age, weight and lifestyle were taking into account, krill oil also significantly reduced the effects of knee pain on sleeping, standing and the range of movement in both knees compared to placebo.
As krill are an important food source for marine animals such as baleen whales, Antarctic Fur Seals and Adelie penguins, its important to select a supplement derived from sustainable sources that do not impact on these feeding grounds. Sustainably derived krill oil will have an on-pack endorsement from an organisation such as the is an international, non-profit organisation that works to safeguard seafood supplies for the future.
Natural Treatments For Knee Pain Relief And Prevention
1. Exercise and Proper Time to Recover
Weak muscles and stiffness are two of the leading problems associated with knee injuries. So while exercise is important for keeping your knees healthy, you also need to rest enough and give your body time to heal. Some people will need to take a break from most exercise or several weeks to heal a damaged knee, or at least limit high-impact activities for a period of time. Before trying more drastic treatments, see if taking a few days off from your usual exercise helps. If you see improvements with rest, then you should plan to decrease your mileage/length of workout when you return.
To protect yourself from injury, always warm up lightly and stretch before exercise. Before engaging in running, biking or another knee-bending exercise, walk a quarter- to a half-mile. After your exercise, be sure to stretch again and then to give yourself enough time to recover properly, at least 12 days .
Doing low-impact exercises is best for people with chronic knee pain or conditions that affect the joints. Examples of low impact workouts include:
- Activities that involve repetitive movements of the legs
- High-impact sports
2. Physical Therapy
3. Good Footwear, Insoles and if Needed, a Knee Brace
In general, people with knee pain should try to avoid wearing sandals, flip flops, Crocs, boat shoes, high heels and boots. These types of shoes are not very supportive and can aggravate back, knee or hip pain.
4. Foam Rolling
- Turmeric
- Omega-3 fatty acids
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Use An Extra Pillow At Night
When you go to bed at night, use an extra pillow and place it between your knees. Lay on your side and keep the pillow in place. Not only will this help rest your knees, it will also help align your spine and prevent back pain. This could also help with your posture, limiting the pressure on your knees.
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Who Should Get Hyaluronic Injections
Hyaluronic acid injections are sometimes recommended for patients with diabetes who have knee osteoarthritis because hyaluronic acid injections do not raise blood sugar the way corticosteroids do. There is no evidence, however, that suggests that hyaluronic acid injections provide significant relief for knee pain, and they are not recommended for managing knee osteoarthritis under the American College of Rheumatology and Arthritis Foundation guidelines.
What to expect:
- You may receive between one and five hyaluronic acid injections.
- If you have excess swelling and fluid buildup in your knee joint, your doctor will use a needle to aspirate, or remove, the fluid before injecting the hyaluronic acid.
- You should avoid prolonged standing, walking, jogging, running, or heavy lifting for the first 48 hours after receiving a hyaluronic acid injection.
It may take up to four weeks to notice any significant improvement, and the effects can vary from two to six months. Hyaluronic acid injections may be repeated about once every six months.
Similar to corticosteroids, research examining the efficacy of hyaluronic injections has yielded mixed results, with some studies reporting significant pain relief and others reporting no effects or insignificant effects on pain.
- No major adverse events were associated with these injections
- Itcan cause a temporary increase in inflammation in the joint that was injected and has been linked to post-injection pseudgout flares.
Get Both An Upper And Lower Body Workout
An elliptical machine with handles is one of the few cardio machines that can provide you with both an upper- and lower-body workout. The key to maximizing the upper-body benefits is to distribute your weight and resistance evenly. In other words, pump your arms just as fast as youre moving your legs.
When done correctly, the elliptical can target your glutes, hamstrings, quads, chest, back, biceps, triceps, and core muscles.
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Medial Collateral Ligament Injury
The medial collateral ligament runs along the outside of your inner knee to stabilize the joint. If the ligament overstretches, you may have an MCL sprain.
The MCL can also tear partially or fully. An MCL injury most commonly occurs after force is applied to the outer knee, such as in contact sports.
Symptoms of an MCL injury include:
Placental Tissue Matrix Injections
Placental tissue matrices are derived from the placenta, an organ that develops during pregnancy to provide oxygen and nutrients to a developing fetus. The placenta sends nutrients to the growing baby via the umbilical cord and it is delivered from the body during childbirth, along with the baby.
- The placental tissue is obtained from a healthy mother who had a normal labor and delivery without complications.
- Once harvested, the placental tissue is cleansed and preserved.
- The placental cells contain a large amount of growth factors that promote healing.
Similar to PRP injections, injections of placental tissue matrix have been shown to help heal damaged cartilage cells and delay changes to the cartilage in osteoarthritis.
You may experience decreased pain and improved use of your knee within two to six weeks after receiving prolotherapy injections, with effects lasting up to one year.
Neither injections of PRP or PTM are recommended for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis by the American College of Rheumatology and Arthritis Foundation guidelines because there is limited evidence demonstrating overall effectiveness and there is a lack of standardization of treatment protocols.
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Taming Tendinitis In The Knee
Tendons are the bands of fibrous tissue that attach muscle to bone. Tendinitis tendon inflammation is often a repetitive strain injury. You get it by repeating the same motion over and over, which irritates the tendon. Joints commonly affected by tendinitis include the elbow, heel, and wrist.
Weekend warriors often develop tendinitis in the knees. Simply being overweight can also contribute to knee tendinitis. Age is another risk factor. Over time, tendons become less flexible and the involved muscles lose strength, both of which further stress the tendons. Inflexible hamstring and quadricep muscles make you more susceptible as well.
Symptoms of tendinitis of the knee include:
- pain above or below the kneecap
- swelling
- pain that recurs with particular activities and eases with rest
- in severe cases, pain becomes constant and can even disrupt sleep
Here are some simple steps you can take to quell tendinitis pain. At the first sign of trouble:
- limit activities that put stress on your knees
- apply ice
You Sit For Long Periods Of Time
If your knee hurts, you might want to stay off of it. But resting too much makes your muscles weaken and often makes knee pain worse. Find a way to get moving without hurting your knee. Some good exercises for people with knee pain include walking, swimming, and water aerobics.
Exercise strengthens the muscles around your knee and helps support the joint. At Coastal Empire Orthopedics, we can help you find the best exercise to keep you moving, even with knee pain.
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How Do Cortisone Injections Work
When you feel pain in your knee, it is usually the result of swelling in the joint. Inflammation occurs in response to injured or irritated tissues and structures. While it causes pain, it is also an important part of your bodys natural healing response.
Cortisone shots in the knee reduce inflammation by interrupting the cellular signaling pathway responsible for creating it. The damaged tissue that would normally trigger inflammation can no longer do so, allowing you to move with reduced levels of pain. After the shot, it takes some time for the corticosteroids to interact with the targeted area . Once they take effect, symptoms should improve rapidly and remain better for several weeks. After this, the corticosteroids slowly degrade, and knee pain typically returns to its original intensity.
Symptoms Of Pain In The Back Of Your Knee
Many different things can cause pain in the back of your knee. If you have pain in the back of your knee, you may want to see a doctor if you are experiencing:
- Severe pain in the knee, especially when walking
- Swelling of the knee
- Unstable knees that give way when climbing stairs
- Audible pop sound coming from knee joint
- Uncomfortable tingling or prickling feeling in the feet
- Inability to live life without pain
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What Can You Do For Bone
Bone on bone knee pain is treatable. The treatment aims at relieving pain and enabling movement again. Below are the various ways you can treat osteoarthritis
Supplements For Those With Mild Pain
For people with milder pain, Dr. Day suggests trying supplements, such as the combination of glucosamine and chondroitin or the spice turmeric.
The evidence for glucosamine and chondroitin is mixed, but they are safe. So it might be worth trying. However, people with a shellfish allergy may not be able to tolerate them. Any effect wont kick in right away. Dr. Day recommends trying it for six to eight weeks. If you notice improvement, great if not, then stop it, she says.
Turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties, and there is some evidence for its usefulness for painful knee arthritis. You can add turmeric to your food or take it as a supplement. It can thin blood, so people who take a blood thinning medication should not use turmeric.
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Burn A Lot Of Calories
If youre looking for a way to crush your calorie burn in a short amount of time, jump on the elliptical. Depending on how much you weigh, this cardio machine can burn about 270 to 400 calories in 30 minutes. The lower end of the range represents a person weighing 125 pounds, while the higher end is for someone weighing 185 pounds.
Burning more calories than you consume can help you lose weight. To boost your calorie burn, consider increasing the intensity of your elliptical workouts.
Sprains Strains And Injuries
Sprains and strains happen when tissues in the knee become stretched by unusual or increased activity, or an awkward twist or trip.
PRICE, described above, should lead to a reduction in pain and improved movement within days, and a gradual improvement over the weeks to follow.
A sprain often resolves itself, but some problems can require more treatment. For example, an injury to the pad of tissue in the knee joint known as the meniscus may require surgery.
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Stand Up Straight To Feel Better
“When you slouch you are leaning forward and walking bent over at the waist and that posture will lead to knee pain,” says Bush-Joseph. “You want your head centered over your shoulders and your shoulders centered over your abdomen and pelvis. The more your body is off-center, the more you have to compensate for that with muscle activity. Those muscles eventually fatigue, causing strain on your joints.”
Having strong core muscles in your abdomen and lower back helps promote good posture and, ultimately, lessens the pressure on your knees. Exercises such as planks, back extensions, yoga and Pilates can help strengthen the core.
Heres how to do these exercises:
- Planks: Lie face down with your toes pointed to the floor. Put your forearms on the floor with your elbows at 90-degree angles. Tighten your abdominal and gluteal muscles and lift your body off the floor. Keep your back straight and hold for 15 to 45 seconds.
- Back extensions: Lie face down with elbows bent and hands on the floor. Keeping your hips on the floor, lift your head and shoulders up with your arms. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds and repeat five to 10 times.
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