Why Does It Hurt To Bend My Knee
Lets dive into specifics as to why it would hurt to bend your knee. What exactly is the problem?
Your kneecap, or patella, is part of a group of muscles and tendons called the quadriceps. These muscles run from your thigh to just below your knee, where they attach to the shinbone .
A tendon runs behind the kneecap and attaches it to a bony prominence on the front of your leg. When you bend or straighten your knee, these muscles and tendons pull on this point on your leg just underneath the kneecap which in turn pulls on the kneecap itself.
The pressure caused by contracting muscles pulling on tendons as they cross over bones is what allows us to move our joints without muscular effort.
The more flexible those muscles and tendons are, the less pressure is required to bend and straighten the knee.
The kneecap itself is held firmly in place by a series of ligaments that attach it to nearby bones. The two most important of these support ligaments are those on either side of your kneecap, called cruciate ligaments.
They stop the top and bottom edges of your kneecap from slipping too much as you move or rotate your leg.
If this pair of cruciate ligaments become overstretched or torn, for example as a result of a sudden twisting movement when youre playing a sport, the injured knee can become unstable particularly when trying to change direction increasing the risk of damage to one or more of the three groups of knee ligaments responsible for holding the joint together.
What Causes Knee Pain
The most common causes of knee pain include:
- Meniscus tears tears to the C-shaped pieces of cartilage in your knee, which are called menisci
- Runner’s knee dull pain at the front of your knee also known as patellofemoral pain syndrome
- Sprained ligaments
- Tendonitis inflammation of your tendons
Old knee injuries that werent treated correctly can also cause chronic knee pain or knee pain that flares up occasionally.
Can Someone With Pfp Syndrome Play Sports
Most people with PFP syndrome need to cut back or stop sports for some time. Follow the health care provider’s instructions on when it’s safe for you to go back to sports. This usually is when:
- Hip, leg, and core strength is near normal.
- Flexibility, especially in the hamstring muscle, has improved.
- There’s no pain with everyday activities, such as walking and going up/down stairs.
- Any pain with activity is very mild and goes away within a few minutes of starting the activity.
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What Can You Do About Knee Pain When Bending
Luckily, there are plenty of treatments out there for those with knee problems as well as ways to prevent it from happening or getting even worse! Again, consult your physician first before attempting anything at home to see what they recommend is the best course of action for you!
However, here are some tips if you need treatment:
- Ice your knee after activity
- Use a heating pad to stimulate healing
- A little bit of movement will help stimulate blood flow
- Exercise can be beneficial but only soft surfaces
Lateral Collateral Ligament Injury
The lateral collateral ligament is one of the four main ligaments of the knee. It connects the outer side of the femur and tibia and is primarily responsible for stabilizing the outer aspect of the knee.
An LCL injury is often the result of a blow to the inside part of the knee this causes the LCL to stretch beyond normal and can result in partial or complete tearing of the ligament.
Symptoms may include soreness on the outside of the knee, swelling, and stiffness. You may experience instability a feeling that the knee is unstable and going to buckle or give out.
32 million adults in the United States.
With aging, the cartilage that helps cushion the ends of bones in the knee joint can wear thin and eventually allow the bones to rub together. Pain, stiffness, and loss of joint movement can follow.
Some people have more significant wearing of the cartilage in the outer compartment of the knee joint and this can lead to lateral sided knee pain.
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Why Do My Knees Crack And Pop When I Bend Them
The term crepitus is used to describe the rubbing, clicking or popping sensations that we feel in or around our joints. It may occur in tandem with a joint disorder or completely on its own. Crepitus can occur when the roughened surfaces of two bones rub together, causing the physical grating of cartilage and/or bone. While this sensation is not normally or commonly painful, it can be quite alarming or concerning to patients. If crepitus is painful, it is usually related to joint damage and/or compression of tissues between the reduced joint spaces. There may also be observable swelling, redness, reduced joint movement or malformation.
Crepitus can also occur when tissues around the knee become inflamed. Many of the highly movable joints in our body have one or more bursa . The bursa can become inflamed due to trauma, repetitive use injury, or other disorders, resulting in bursitis. With increased fluid inside the joint, the inflamed surfaces can rub together and create the sensation of crepitus. In the knee, there are several bursae around the kneecap and hamstring tendons in the back of the knee.
Treating Knee Pain When Bending
The best treatment for knee pain when bending will depend on the underlying cause of your knee pain. In most cases it will involve:
You will find loads more information on the different conditions we have looked at including the best ways to treat knee pain when bending by using the links above.Here we have looked at the most common causes of knee pain when bending, but almost any problem with the knee can result in pain as you move it. If none of these is sounding quite right, visit the knee pain diagnosis section for more help work out what is causing your bending knee pain.
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Knee Hurts When I Bend It And Straighten It
Do you have daily knee pain despite having no major trauma or precipitating event? Has physical therapy, rest and NSAIDs failed to provide relief? It is very frustrating and can keep you on the sidelines. To learn more please read below to answer the following questions: What are the different types of knee pain that are associated with bending and straightening? What are the eight most common causes of knee pain? What common conditions cause your knee to hurt when you bend it or straighten it? What treatment options are available? Lets dig in.
What Are The Common Causes Of Knee Pain
Sustaining an injury is by far the most common and often unavoidable reason for experiencing knee pain and swelling.
A meniscus tear is a typical knee injury, particularly for athletes or people who play contact sports. The meniscus is a piece of cartilage that cushions your femur and tibia . There are two in each knee joint.
Whether your injury is a sprain, torn ligament or menisci, dislocation or broken bone, youll usually get some fairly instant knee pain, swelling and tenderness. And the knee pain will be more intense depending on how badly youre injured, explains Dr Rhianna McClymont.
Underlying conditions usually cause knee pain to come on more gradually instead. While this list is by no means exhaustive, GPs tend to see the following conditions causing chronic knee pain.
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Where Does Your Knee Hurt
Knee pain on the front of the jointcould be patellar arthritis or patellar tendonitis. These conditions tend to hurt when bending the knee, kneeling and/or squatting. Typically the deeper the knee bend the worse it will hurt.
Pain on the lateral or outside of the knee is common in runners.Iliotibial band syndromeis one of the most common knee ailments affecting the lateral aspect of the knee.
The discomfort localized to the medial or inside of the knee could indicate tibiofemoral arthritis or meniscal irritation.
Nagging pain or pressure that is localized to the back of the knee could be a sign that youve damaged your meniscus. It is also possible that you irritated the popliteal muscleand surrounding area.
Why Do I Have Pain In The Front Of The Knee
The most common cause of anterior knee pain is often felt to come from a muscular imbalance or a particular pattern of weakness. This will be the case for the majority of you reading this. At least thats what we think is the most common cause. We have come a long way in evaluating runners and other people who present with pain in the front of their knees. They often show the same findings when we use high-speed cameras to videotape them while running or walking. Now, this might be a chicken vs. the egg thing. Right? Which came first, the weakness pattern or the pain? We like to think it was the weakness that came first. We are still working on proving that.
If you are a runner or cyclist, etc then your training may influence your anterior knee pain. If you train too hard, too fast, and too often then you are at a higher risk of developing anterior knee pain. Most amateur runners run too fast on their easy days and too slow on their hard days. Proper base building, for strength, endurance and conditioning our joints to adapt to distance is of paramount importance. Zone 2 running programs are extremely important even for elite runners. Try to keep your training at a continuously progressive pace. You should be slowly increasing the load, distance, or speed over time. Try not to increase your load, eg. distance, speed, etc more than 10% per week. Most runners overuse injuries are training errors.
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Exercise Program For Pain In The Front Of Your Knee :
Many of you are afraid to exercise. Yes, some of you may have pain with a few of these exercises. You can start with quadriceps isometric exercises, or simply dont go too low with the squat, lunge or wall sit until your strength improves. Most of you will find that after doing these exercises 3 days/week for two weeks that your pain will start to improve. As I mentioned previously, this is a program that can take 6-12 months to fully correct the weakness pattern that led to pain in the front of your knee. So stick with it.
Squat: I like the variations that this group throws in. You do not and should not start with 100 if you are just starting out.
Chair Squats are the place to start if you dont have the strength or confidence.
Wall Sits: A great quadriceps exercise. This video is a little mechanical, but it contains the dos and donts of how to perform a wall sit.
Reverse Lunges: Easier than forward lunges. Dont lunge back further than you can handle. That distance will get further over time. Focus on your front knee so it doesnt wobble back and forth.
Planks: This video includes a good description of the proper technique, and it gives you 10 different variations to try.
Hamstring bridge exercise. If this is too easy you can rest a barbell across your pelvis, or a kettlebell on your lower abdomen.
Why Would A Teenager Have Knee Pain
Knee pain isnt a condition that only happens to older people. Despite being young, your teenager can develop knee pain too.
Knee pain in teens is a common result of overuse, but also results from specific knee injuries and medical conditions that affect the knee. Knee pain can also be temporary and not related to an injury, but rather a change in your teens level of activity or sport.
Because of the many different reasons for knee pain, if your teen complains of pain, its wise to get it checked. Never think that knee pain in your teen is simply growing pains. This is not a typical cause of knee pain in a teenager.
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Above Or Around The Kneecap
If bending causes pain in front of, above or around the kneecap, you may be experiencing:
- Patellofemoral pain syndrome. Commonly known as runners knee, patellofemoral pain syndrome develops when the tissues around and under the kneecap become irritated and inflamed. Runners knee causes pain, stiffness and grinding or creaking sounds in the knee.
- Quadriceps tendinitis. The quadriceps tendon sits above the knee and connects the quadriceps muscle to the kneecap. Overuse can cause the tendon to become thickened, inflamed and torn, leading to knee pain and stiffness.
- Patellar tendinitis. The patellar tendon sits below the knee and connects the shinbone to the kneecap. Overuse can cause the tendon to become thickened, inflamed and torn, leading to knee pain and stiffness.
- Bursitis. The knee joint contains several fluid-filled sacs that cushion the bones, ligaments, tendons and muscles. When one or more of the bursae becomes inflamed, it can cause knee pain and stiffness over the kneecap.
Pain Behind Knee When Bending Leg Joint From Popliteal Cysts Or Bakers Cyst:
The cysts often go away without any treatment. The first case of the treatment when it would usually involve addressing the underlying condition. Using ice is the best way of relieving this behind the knee pain. There is also a treatment for a meniscus tear often involves physical therapy depending on the severity of the tear. This is was a treatment of the Pain behind knee when bending Leg.
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Stiff Knee Treatment Options
Treatment choices when a knee feels tight when bending are determined by the underlying cause.
If the damage is slight, the following home remedies may relieve pain and reduce swelling while the injury heals:
- Regularly apply an ice pack to the knee
- Use over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
- Stabilize your knee and reduce the risk of further injury with a knee brace
Those with more serious injuries or recurrent knee pain should speak with their doctor. The doctor determines the reason for the knee stiffness and makes therapy recommendations.
These therapies can vary depending on the reason for the knee stiffness:
- Utilizing corticosteroids to reduce inflammation
- Improving knee function and total mobility with physical therapy
- Pharmaceuticals for rheumatoid arthritis
- Taking prescription pain medications
How To Manage The Pain
When you have knee pain when bending, there are some things you can do to help ease the pain. Depending on the injury and the amount of pain, you may even be able to eliminate it completely.
- Allow your knees to rest for a few days after intense activities.
- Put ice on your knee for 15-20 minute intervals every 3-4 hours for 2-3 days. This will ease the pain and help reduce the swelling.
- Keep swelling down by adding support with a brace or bandage.
- When you are sitting or lying down, place a pillow under your heel and knee to help reduce the pressure.
- Use anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen to help reduce pain and swelling.
- Complete daily stretching and strengthening exercises to help keep the muscles, tendons, and ligaments around the joint strong.
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How Is It Diagnosed
When genu valgum is present in an older child or adult, its important to find out if theres an underlying cause. A bone disease or arthritis will need to be treated.
Your doctor will ask questions about family medical history, as well as whether youre in any pain. If you are, theyll want to know where the pain youre feeling is located.
During a physical exam, your doctor will observe how you stand and walk.
Theyll also look to assess:
- inequality in your leg length
- your knee alignment angle
- uneven wear on the soles of your shoes
In some cases, your doctor may order an X-ray or MRI scan to look at your bone structure.
Common Reasons Your Knee Hurts When Bending
Your knee hurts when you bend it because of the way the bones and muscles work together. When you bend your knee, the femur moves down towards the tibia . This movement causes a compression force on the cartilage that lines the joint. The more you bend your knee, the more compression force is applied to the cartilage. Cartilage is a tough but flexible tissue that helps cushion and lubricate joints. If you apply too much compression force to it, it can wear down and cause pain.
There are other structures in the knee joint that can also be affected by bending. For example, the tendons and ligaments that connect the bones together can stretch or tear. The meniscus is a C-shaped piece of cartilage that sits between the femur and tibia. It acts as a shock absorber and helps keep the joint stable. Bending the knee can cause the meniscus to tear.
All of these structures work together to allow you to bend your knee. When one or more of them is damaged, it can cause knee pain. Treatment for painful knee will depend on the underlying cause. For example, if you have a meniscus tear, you may need surgery to repair it. If the pain is caused by arthritis, you may find great relief in Modomas hyaluronic acid knee injections.
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