Pain On The Inside Of The Knee Cap

Diagnosing Inner Knee Pain

If you experience consistent pain, speak to your doctor as soon as possible. Your doctor will ask questions about the pain and other symptoms and will perform a physical examination with special tests specifically for the knee.

He or she may also order a diagnostic test, such as an MRI or X-ray for more conclusive results or ruling out certain injuries. It is also important for your doctor to rule out other possible issues such as a low back injury-known as lumbar radiculopathy.

Knee Pain On Inside: Five Common Injuries

Meniscus Irritation or Injury

The medial meniscus helps absorb weight as you move, particularly during high impact activities like running and jumping. It is often injured while playing sports. Unexpected collisions, stopping and starting at high speeds and twisting movements are the events that typically result in meniscal injury. Afterward, you may notice pain and swelling throughout the knee especially on the inside of the joint. You will also experience a loss in range of motion, and may feel like your knee is unstable while walking. If you have suffered a traumatic injury to your meniscus you should seek medical attention immediately. Depending on the nature of the tear, surgery may be warranted.

While traumatic meniscus injuries are common, it is also possible to irritate the meniscus through repetitive movements. Frequent squatting and bending while working, can over time, cause small fissures to develop in the meniscus resulting in nagging pain and instability. In these situations, an offloader knee brace can be a great treatment option. Because the brace actively reduces pressure on the joint, it will help keep you on your feet and working while letting your meniscus heal.

Pes Anserine Bursitis

Synovial Plica Syndrome

Medial Collateral Ligament Sprain/Strain

Medial Knee Osteroarthritis

Exercises For Inner Knee Pain

For most cases of inner knee pain, exercise is a sufficient and effective way to improve your pain levels, regain functionality, and prevent future pain. For the knee, in particular, stretching and strengthening of the muscles surrounding the thighs can provide support and stability to the knee. These include the hamstrings, the muscles on the back of the thighs, and the quadriceps, the muscles on the front of the thighs. Here are four exercises to get you started

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Adhesion In The Knee Capsule Is One Of Most Common Causes Of Pain On Inside Of Knee

When it comes to pain on the inside of your knee, theyd look for adhesion inside of your knee capsule.

The knee capsule is a paper-like sheath that surrounds the whole knee joint .

Adhesion acts like glue in the knee capsule.

Normally, your heel should touch your butt like it did for Amanda above.

When you have adhesion in your knee joint capsule, youd feel a slow-building tightness or mild pain in your knee joint with the Heel to Butt Test.

Your range would be restricted too. Amandas knee flexion range was 4 finger-breadths away from being full .

Remember, a restricted Heel to Butt Test that is NOT caused by adhesion, but by meniscus damage, would have moderate or significant pain . When the restriction is arthritis, the pain would typically get better with exercise .

When To See Your Doctor

Don’t wait if your knee pain is sudden and intense. Pick up the phone if it won’t go away or gets worse.

To make a diagnosis, your doctor might take X-rays or other images of your knee. Blood or knee fluid samples can help confirm or rule out certain conditions. Treatment may include medication, special exercises, braces, or in some cases surgery. Losing weight could help lessen pressure and strain on your knees.

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Inflammation Of Knee Soft Tissues As A Cause Of Burning Pain In The Knee

A common cause of burning pain in the knee is inflammation of the soft tissues that make up the joint. Connective tissue of the knee and muscles can undergo wear and tear leading to knee pain.

Different soft tissue complications that can trigger pain include:

Bursitis

Knee bursitis is the inflammation of small fluid-filled pockets or sacs present in the joint. The bursae get inflamed in response to injury or overuse.

Pain due to knee bursitis is more pronounced when kneeling down and is pretty common in individuals exposed to heavy loads. This type of pain is felt in the front of the knee.

Tendonitis

Patellar tendinitis is another condition that is the outcome of overuse injury. Also known as jumpers knee, patellar tendinitis is common in volleyball players. Just like PFPS, it is also a common overuse injury characterized by burning knee pain.

Pain due to patellar tendinitis is almost always felt on the outside of the knee.

Hamstring tendonitis may also contribute to burning knee pain with pain signals running into the legs as well.

Inner Knee Pain: Why Does The Inside Of My Knee Hurt 5 Common Causes

Do you have pain on the inner part of your knee? Well, theres five Common causes for pain on the inside of the knee. And theres a specialist physical therapist, I often see people are mis diagnosed by their healthcare professional, because really, their healthcare professional just doesnt do a whole lot of examination, they wont physically examine their patients most of the time. And even then, theyre not specialists in physically checking the knee and knowing the ligaments, the tendons, the cartilage, all the stuff thats in there.

Theyre more specialists or experts in issuing out pain medication, which really does not solve any sort of knee problem for the long term. Today, Ill be explaining to you the five Common causes for knee pain so that you can best determine which one you have. And watch out because some of these problems can overlap, there is a possibility that you might have two of them happening at the same time, so you have to use your best judgment to figure out whats going on.

For most of these problems, Ive got a separate video that shows you exactly how to test yourself. In some of these videos go into the treatment that you can do on your own, so that you can begin to get relief for this specific problem thats causing your inner knee pain. The videos are linked in the description below. So lets get into the first of the five reasons for inner knee pain.

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Iliotibial Band Syndrome As A Cause Of Stabbing Pain In The Knee

When knee burning pain is experienced in the lateral aspect i.e. side of the knee, the condition is termed Iliotibial band syndrome. Knee overuse disorders include PFPS and ITBS.

Trauma or overuse can irritate and swell up the iliotibial band tendon which can further cause compression of the nerves. It can affect one or both knees.

Burning pain in the knee is a common symptom of this syndrome, thus, it is easily diagnosed. This is one of the most common conditions that cause a burning sensation in the knee.

The syndrome usually manifests itself in the form of a burning sensation with knee pain in the lateral femoral epicondyle of the knee. A 2020 study indicates that conservative treatment might be helpful in alleviating this location-specific knee pain.

Athletes exposed to physical stress suffer from this syndrome and often complain of burning knee pain, a study suggests.

Causes Of Inner Knee Pain

There are several things that can cause inner knee pain. These include:

• injury such as a blow to the outside of your knee, which pushes your knee inwards
• activities that involve sudden twisting or pivoting of your knees for example, skiing or playing rugby
• activities where you have to use your knee a lot for example, cycling, gymnastics or swimming breaststroke
• getting older and your knee joint becoming worn down

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What Causes Pain Inside Of Knee

Your knee is one of the most complex joints in your body, with many interworking parts. Bones, ligaments, cartilage, tendons, and menisci must all work together in perfect alignment to keep you moving fluidly. When one of these components becomes strained, torn, or injured, it throws the entire system off base, resulting in discomfort and difficulty in moving.

Inner knee pain is often caused by cartilage deterioration or a sports injury, but there are several other possible culprits as well. Pain inside the knee can be caused by:

• Osteoarthritis: This degenerative disease breaks down cartilage to the point where bones end up grinding against each other. Without the protective cushioning cartilage provides, this can create serious pressure in your inner knee.
• Rheumatoid arthritis: If you experience inside knee pain in the morning that subsides throughout the day, you may have rheumatoid arthritis, which causes joint inflammation.
• MCL injury: Youve probably heard of athletes tearing their MCLthis happens when the ligament that runs alongside your outer knee over stretches.
• Knee contusion: Landing hard on your knee or getting hit in the same area can bruise your knee bone and cause pain inside your knee.

Medial Knee Ligament Sprain

An MCL sprain is a tear to the ligament on the inside of the knee joint. MCL stands for the medial collateral ligament. It is caused either by a direct impact to the outside of the knee or from twisting. Symptoms include:

• Sudden onset pain is located on the inside of the knee.
• Rapid swelling.
• A positive result for a valgus stress test.
• Often they occur in conjunction with an anterior cruciate ligament tear. Or with a meniscus tear.

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What Are The Treatments For A Bucket Handle Tear

Doctors typically recommend surgery to repair a bucket handle tear, with a few exceptions. First, if you have a chronic bucket handle tear that doesnt cause symptoms, your doctor will not usually recommend surgery. Second, if you have a history of severe arthritis , a bucket handle tear repair may not relieve your symptoms.

Conservative treatment and time may be the best course of action, especially in the case of a minor tear, or depending on where, in the meniscus, your injury is. This means rest, regular icing, and likely taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication as your knee heals.

Another treatment which some doctors have used for meniscal tears is platelet rich plasma therapy. This is a nonsurgical treatment method. reported spontaneous healing of a bucket handle tear in a 43-year-old man after three PRP injection treatments. While promising, results may not always be this conclusive. Researchers are continuing to explore nonsurgical options like this.

What To Do About Inner Knee Pain

Knee pain is an incredibly common complaint amongst athletes and individuals of all fitness levels. The repetitive nature of walking, running, and even sitting and standing puts a lot of strain on this hard-working joint, and can often result in inner knee pain. Inside knee pain typically points to cartilage issues lets explore what to do about inner knee pain.

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Why Is Medial Knee Pain So Common

Medial knee injuries are really common because muscle weakness and/or tightness, which is very common, can subtly change the way the knee moves.

This causes more force to go through the inner side of the joint, rather than distributing weight evenly through the whole joint, which results in damage to the inner side of the knee and therefore results in medial knee pain. For example, it is much more common to get osteoarthritis on the inner side of the knee than the outer side.

Location Of Inner Knee Pain

The exact location of inner knee pain can differ depending on the underlying problem.

• Lower inner knee pain occurs just below the inside of the knee joint. Pain around this area suggests a problem with the tendons, ligaments, or other connective tissue that attach to the lower part of the leg.
• If inner knee pain occurs near the center of the joint this is often due to a meniscus, ligament, or patellar injury.
• Pain above the knee is usually due to tendon or muscle issues in the upper thigh region.

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If Youre Going To Do Anything For Your Knee Make Sure It Works

My heart breaks when people have been getting any pain treatment for 10, 20, or 30 visits without any significant relief.

This type of healthcare is not OK by me.

Thats why we have a 5 Visit Rule at Barefoot Rehab.

You should notice permanent relief in your pain in 5 visits or less. Often after one visit/treatment.

So if youre going to get treatment for pain inside your knee, make sure its working. If it isnt, find another doctor or healthcare provider.

Have you found a treatment that works for the pain on the inside of your knee? Tell us about it.

What Are The Symptoms Of A Bucket Handle Tear

You have two menisci in your knee: medial and lateral. Your medial meniscus is C-shaped and protects the inside portion of your knee. Your lateral meniscus is U-shaped and rests on the outer half of your knee joint. Each meniscus helps reduce the overall pressure on your knee joint. However, menisci are subject to tear.

A bucket handle tear is a full-thickness tear of the meniscus that most often happens in the inner portion of your medial meniscus. According to the Wheeless Textbook of Orthopaedics, bucket handle tears occur three times more often in the medial meniscus than the lateral one. The name bucket handle refers to how a portion of the meniscus tears and can flip over like the handle on a bucket. Sometimes, a torn meniscus portion may flip over and become stuck in the knee joint.

The chief symptom of a meniscal tear is pain and discomfort. Sometimes the pain may be generalized to your knee or along each edge of your knee joint. The other symptom that often accompanies a bucket handle tear specifically is a locked knee joint. This occurs when your joint will not fully straighten after its bent.

Other symptoms you may experience with a bucket handle tear include:

Bucket handle tears also often accompany an anterior cruciate ligament tear. Some of the symptoms that could indicate an ACL tear include:

• difficulty bearing weight on the knee
• knee instability

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How Do I Stop My Knee From Burning And Hurting

Burning and hurting of the knee may be treated by taking adequate rest. During the rest period, the individuals should try to avoid activities that involve jumping or running. They may also be advised to apply ice packs or cold packs to the affected area in order to reduce the swelling. While the reduction in swelling may improve the burning pain, the patient may be advised of over-the-counter pain killers in addition.

Common Causes Of Inner Knee Pain

There are a variety of causes of inner knee pain. Many of them can be linked to an injury. Some of the most common incidents that cause knee injury and pain include falls, sports injuries, or increased activity.

Adults particularly those older than 60 are most likely to experience knee pain. However, inner knee pain can also occur in children and adolescents.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, the most common causes of inner knee pain in children are:

• patellar subluxation

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Pain On The Outside Of The Knee

• A burning pain at the outside of the knee may be due to iliotibial band syndrome. The iliotibial band is a ligament running down the outside of the thigh to the outside of the knee which can become inflamed and irritated.
• A tear in one of the two menisci can cause pain, swelling, and a feeling that the knee is giving way or locking.
• A burning sensation at the side of the knee can indicate pressure on the menisci and sometimes can be due to a fluid filled cyst.

If You Feel Inner Knee Pain When Active Swelling Stiffness And Decreased Mobility:

You probably have knee osteoarthritis. Along with the symptoms mentioned above, there might also be a creaking, crackly sound that is heard when the knee moves. You may also feel warmth on your knee joint. With osteoarthritis, it can become difficult to get in and out of chairs or cars, use the stairs, or walk.

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When To Seek Medical Help

If your injury is mild, you may be able to manage your symptoms yourself, without seeking medical advice. But you should see a doctor or physiotherapist, if:

• you cant put weight on the affected leg
• you have severe pain, even when youre not putting weight on it
• your knee gives way, clicks, or locks
• you cant move your knee
• your knee is hot, red or very swollen or you have a fever