Treatments For Knee Injuries & Osteoarthritis
Most treatments for a knee injury and osteoarthritis of the knee work best when started early.
If your knee is giving out, you should seek an assessment from a qualified physiotherapist.
After the assessment, your physiotherapist may recommend bracing to help stabilize your knee and will offer you a treatment plan to help:
- Reduce pain
How Do I Fix It:
I have noticed a change in trends for in the management of ACL injuries as further research emerges. From the not so distant future we would operate on all ACL tears to restore normal function of the knee.
Now a trial of non-surgical management is recommended for at least 3 months before a decision about surgery is made. This is because there are now high-level studies that show even athletes can return to high level sport without an ACL.
Many clinicians now advocate for conservative therapy because there is a big chance it will be successful. Even if conservative therapy isnt a success, you can always have the surgery later with no increased risk of damaging the knee.
Rehabilitation for ACL injury is unique as every person will present differently. However, there are some core elements which will remain the same, these involve:
- Lower limb and core strengthening
- Running and cutting drills
- Lower limb control during jumping and single leg tasks
- Sport specific drills as you improve
- Education on safe return to sport and load management
For further information on ACL injuries, please see our ACL injury page.
Are Knee Instability Symptoms Serious
The severity of your knee instability is ultimately dependent on the cause and the impact it has on your activity levels or quality of life.
- Not serious: A mild strain or sprain is a common sports injury and can be healed with rest and physical therapy.
- Moderately serious: Damage to the cartilage can lead to arthritis. The pain and instability of an acute injury may become chronic if not treated right away.
- Serious: A more severe injury, if neglected, can suddenly worsen if you overdo it. For example, a partial tear may become a complete tear.
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Cartilage Of The Knee
There are two types of the cartilage of the knee joint:
Home Care For Knee Pain
Inflammation is the body’s physiologic response to an injury. In treating many types of knee pain, a common goal is to break the inflammatory cycle. The inflammatory cycle starts with an injury. After an injury, substances that cause inflammation invade the knee to assist in healing. However, if the injury and subsequent inflammation is not resolved, inflammation can become a chronic issue, leading to further inflammation and additional injury. This cycle of inflammation leads to continued or progressive knee pain. The cycle can be broken by controlling the substances that cause inflammation, and by limiting further injury to tissue.
Some common home care techniques for knee pain that control inflammation and help to break the inflammatory cycle are protection, rest, ice, compression, and elevation. This regimen is summarized by the memory device PRICE.
PROTECT the knee from further trauma.
- This can be done with knee padding or splinting.
- A pad over the kneecap, for example, helps to control the symptoms of some knee injuries by preventing further repetitive injury to the prepatellar bursae.
REST the knee.
- Rest reduces the repetitive strain placed on the knee by activity.
- Rest both gives the knee time to heal and helps to prevent further injury.
ICE the knee.
COMPRESS the knee with a knee brace or wrap.
- Compression reduces swelling.
- In some knee injuries, compression can be used to keep the patella aligned and to keep joint mechanics intact.
ELEVATE the knee.
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Reasons Your Knee Gives Way And How To Fix It
Imagine running to catch that bus your late for and your knee gives way! Or you playing your favourite sport and when the knee buckles underneath you.
Having your knee give way can be a scary thought. Not many people think about the reasons why your knee gives way until it happens to them. Its at this point that knowing whats going on and how to fix it becomes very important.
This article is about highlighting the main reasons your knee gives way. I’ll start with the most common reasons and work down to those that may not occur so frequently.
My aim is not only to inform you, but to help you do what you need to overcome this condition.
So, lets start from the top and look at the number one reason that your knee gives way.
What Is Knee Pain
The knee is a joint that permits the leg to bend and straighten. Knee pain is common due to injury, age-related degeneration, inflammation, and infection.
What Are Symptoms of Knee Pain?
Symptoms of knee pain include:
- Sudden, intense pain at the knee
- Swelling
- Inability to bend or fully straighten the knee
- Clicking, crunching, or catching sound in the knee joint when walking
Signs knee pain may be serious include:
- Extreme pain
- Feeling or hearing a popping when injury occurs
- Joint instability
- Inability to bear weight on affected leg
- Inability to straighten leg
- Knee buckles under when you try to walk
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What To Do When Your Knee Pops Or Snaps
The best treatments are targeted directly at the specific problem that is causing the abnormal popping or snapping inside the knee joint. Most mechanical problems are best treated with arthroscopic knee surgery. Crepitus and tendon problems are more often treated by addressing inflammation in the knee joint.
Can Knee Pain In Teens Be Prevented
Most knee pain that is caused by injury or overuse can be prevented with some attention and work by your teen, including:
- Make sure your teen wears proper shoes for the activity/sport and wears knee pads and leg guards . Replace worn out footwear and gear.
- Engage in muscle strength training exercises. Check with a trainer to make sure proper form and body alignment are being followed. Always do warm up and cool down exercises before and after workouts.
- Keep your muscles flexible by proper stretching exercises or yoga.
- Dont engage in activities that cause or worsen knee pain.
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How To Fix It:
Unfortunately, there is no long-term cure for knee osteoarthritis currently. The best solution we have, is to eventually replace the knee with an operation called the total knee replacement.
But dont think that all hope is lost, because there is good evidence that exercise and weight loss can reduce symptoms by up to 50%.
What Are The Potential Complications Of Knee Buckling
The main complication of knee instability is losing your balance and falling. Falling increases the risk of further injury, including fractures. People most at risk of falling include the elderly and those who have recurrent episodes of knee buckling.
Untreated knee injuries can accelerate the development of knee and worsening mobility. Persistent knee instability can also limit your ability to climb stairs. Fear of falling or losing your balance may cause many people to avoid activities, including work and leisure interests.
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What Are The Different Types Of Knee Pops
There are two types of knee pops: Pathological knee pops are those that only you can feel or hear. Physiological knee pops are loud enough that everyone can hear. Knee cracking thats physiological and frequent is a sign you may need physical therapy or further testing to determine the underlying issue with your knee joint.
Seeking Treatment For Knee Pain
Assessment by one of our awarded orthopedicsurgeonscan diagnose the problem causing the pain and tailor a treatment plan that is specific for the problem.
The awarded team atTotalOrthopedicsandSportsMedicine focuses on both the surgical and non-surgical treatment of bone, joint injuries, ligament and tendon injuries. Renowned expertsDr. CharlesRuotoloand Dr.Richard McCormackleadour KneeTeam.
Fortunately, many patients can be treated non-surgically with a combination of conservative modalities coordinated by theTotalOrthopedicsandSportsMedicineTeam. If surgery is necessary, the practice uses a multidisciplinary approach to create a treatment plan that focuses on the patients lifestyle and activities and helps them get back to those activities quickly and effectively. Total Orthopedics and Sports Medicine haslocationsthroughoutLongIsland, Brooklynand the Bronx.
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Speak Up Before You Fall Down
Such consequences, say the researchers, are preventable in people whose buckling knees are caused by muscle weakness or poor balance with interventions that include quadriceps-strengthening exercises and balance and agility training. Doctors must do their part in first identifying these patients and patients should bring up the subject if their doctors dont.
Unless prompted by their doctors, most patients dont mention incidences of their knees giving way. The researchers suspect that doctors dont always consider knee buckling and its consequences in their arthritis patients because theyre more focused on pain relief and regaining function. As a result, the researchers are encouraging doctors to routinely ask patients whether theyve experienced any knee buckling or instability.
Dont wait for your doctor to ask about these symptoms, Flynn says. Since pain is the most common knee-arthritis symptom, other symptoms like buckling can sometimes be overlooked. Ask your doctor about options that can help you stay active and reduce your fall risk. In addition to recommending exercise, he or she may suggest losing excess weight that could be putting strain on your knees upgrading your footwear to shoes or slippers with low heels and thin, slip-resistant soles and using a walking aid such as a cane.
Joint Capsule And Lining
The synovium is the lining of the joint space. The synovium is a layer of tissue that defines the joint space.
The synovial cells produce a slippery, viscous fluid called synovial fluid within the joint. In conditions that cause inflammation of the joint, there can be an abundance of synovial fluid produced, which leads to swelling of the knee joint.
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Bones Of The Lower Extremity
The lower extremity includes the femur, the tibia, and foot and ankle bones.
We call the segment between the hip and knee the thigh, and we call the segment between the knee and ankle the leg.
Some people confuse the words leg and lower extremity, but in anatomic terms the leg spans only the distance from the knee to the ankle.
Most Common Knee Instability Causes
The most common causes of knee instability include the following.
- Ligament sprain: Sprain of the knee ligaments, which means these ligaments have had their fibers damaged due to wear and tear, sudden stress, or direct trauma.
- Ligament tear: Tear of the ligaments, meaning the fibers have been partially or completely torn through. This usually happens when you run and then make a sudden change of direction the knee stays pointing one way while the rest of you twists the other way.
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You Cant Straighten Your Knee Or Leg
If you have trouble straightening your leg or it hurts to do so, you probably have a serious knee injury.
To test this, start in a seated position and try to lift your lower leg using your own leg muscles. You may still be able to bear weight and walk slowly and carefully without assistance, but will probably require assistance to lift your lower leg and fully extend your injured knee, says Dr. Brown.
Patella fractures, quadriceps tendon tears, and patellar tendon tears all tend to be associated with an inability to straighten the leg.
Use a knee immobilizer to hold the knee in a straight position and help with pain relief. This also makes it easier to move about until your appointment with an orthopedic surgeon, he adds.
Another test is to lie down and try to straighten your leg. The goal is to get your knee to lie flat. This might be difficult or impossible to do due to the pain, but what you should watch out for is a total inability to straighten your knee.
Some of the problems that could cause a locked knee include meniscus tears or a torn ACL. The key is to determine whether you cant straighten your knee due to sheer pain or physical blockage. If you feel blocked, then we recommend getting in touch with a doctor sooner rather than later.
On the flip side, you might have trouble bending your knee. If your knee feels stuck in any way, and the feeling doesnt go away within a few hours, you could be experiencing something more severe.
Reasons Your Knee Has Given Out
The knee is a complicated joint, more than just a hinge that allows your leg to bend and straighten. Ligaments, tendons and bones assist the joint with bending, twisting, and stabilizing weight and movement. One of the primary functions of the knee is to support the body by bearing its weight. When the knee joint is compromised, so goes the body. A person whose knee suddenly gives out or buckles is at risk of a sudden fall and further injury.
Its not normal for a knee to buckle, and while it might at first seem like a fluke it could be a serious problem. Your health professional may order an X-ray or an MRI to receive an accurate assessment, in order to properly diagnose the knee problem. In many cases, an orthopedic specialist can provide the best treatment options for problems affecting the musculoskeletal system, especially joints like the knees.
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What Are The Treatments For Knee Buckling
Treating knee buckling depends on the severity of the problem and the underlying cause. The goals are to restore stability, prevent falls, and relieve any accompanying symptoms. In general, doctors start with conservative treatments including:
- Rest, ice and elevation to reduce or swelling from minor injuries
- NSAIDs , such as ibuprofen and naproxen , to help relieve pain and swelling
- Bracing to support the knee and keep it stable
- Crutches to keep weight off the knee if necessary
- to strengthen supporting muscles and restore knee function
In some cases, surgery may be necessary to correct the problem causing knee instability if conservative treatments fail.
If body weight is contributing to knee instability, doctors may recommend a comprehensive weight loss program.
Reasons For Knee Buckling: Symptoms Diagnosis And Treatment
Imagine running to catch that bus your late for and your knee gives way! Or whilst playing your favourite sport, you experience your knee buckling underneath you.
Having your knee give way can be a scary thought. Not many people think about the reasons why your knee gives way until it happens to them.
Its at this point that knowing whats going on and how to fix it becomes very important.
Prefer to skip ahead?
8.Other Causes For Knee Buckling
This article is about highlighting the main reasons your knee gives way. Starting with the most common reasons, and then working down to those that may not occur so frequently.
The aim is not only to inform you, but to help you do what you need to overcome this condition.
Lets start from the top with the number one reason that your knee gives way!
ACL injuries are very common and can have lasting effects on your knees. The Medical Journal of Australia reports that in Australia, there are upwards of 17,000 injuries per year.
Looking at the statistics you can see that the rate of ACL injury is only increasing with increased population and participation in cutting sports such as netball and soccer.
The amount of reconstructions being performed are also increasing, with Australia currently having the highest amount of ACL reconstructionsin the world.
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Posterior Cruciate Ligament Tears
The PCL crosses over the ACL and prevents forward shifting of the shin bone. The PCL is typically injured by falling and landing directly on the front of the knee joint.
PCL tears can often be treated with nonsurgical treatment when sustained as an isolated injury, but are more commonly treated surgically when combined with other injuries.
Osteoarthritis Of The Knee
Another common cause for your knee giving way could be the onset of osteoarthritis of the knee, which is the breakdown and gradual loss of surrounding cartilage.
This condition can be accompanied by pain, stiffness, swelling, and a grinding or grating sound when bending the knee.
Did you know? Osteoarthritis of the knee affects one out of every ten Canadians and doesnt just affect the elderly, as its onset is now being detected 16 years earlier than it was in the 1990s.
Although there isnt one exact reason why osteoarthritis of the knee develops, some causes include:
- Family history of osteoarthritis
- Being overweight
- Increasing age
If youre concerned about any of these symptoms, book a physiotherapy assessment for knee pain today.
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