You Felt Or Heard A Pop
Sometimes, a popping sound after a movement can indicate something is out of place.
Oftentimes this type of sound upon injury is indicative of a ligamentous injury, says Schwabe. Not all ligamentous injuries are full tears, though, and not all require surgery.
However, if you also experience excessive swelling and instability, get it checked out by an M.D. If you only have a mild sprain then you will be able to rehab it with physical therapy, he says.
The pop is what you hear as a result of a ligament tear, a meniscus tear, strained tendons, or a dislocated kneecap. Usually what happens is youll simultaneously hear and feel the pop.
If youre not familiar with the meniscus, its the cartilage in the knee that functions as a shock absorber. Each knee has two menisci, and theyre shaped like horseshoes. The medial meniscus is on the inside of the knee, and the lateral meniscus is on the outside.
The popping sensation can be difficult to explain, but youll certainly know it when it happens to you. Though the sound originates in the knee, youll hear it as though it was directly in your ear. Its as if the sensation travels up your body, and when it gets to your brain, it becomes audible.
If the pain is severe, youll want to visit a doctor as soon as possible. Surgery is often the recommended course of action, but physical therapy and other non-invasive remedies may be prescribed as alternatives.
The Problems Of Excess Weight And Obesity Causes More Inflammation
When we suggest to the patient that their knee can benefit from weight loss, we typically hear, I know, I know, or I have been trying. These are the typical responses of someone who has tried to lose weight and is tired of being lectured. Weight gain, like knee osteoarthritis, is a slow methodical problem that cannot be made to go away overnight. To lose weight you must find the inner motivation to do so. Maybe research can help.
In July 2020, researchers writing in the medical journal Skeletal Radiology looked at three patient groups. All the patients had knee osteoarthritis. The three groups were: people with normal weight people who were overweight people who were obese. What they were looking for was a relationship between excess weight and increases knee inflammation. Here are the results:
- Being overweight or obese was significantly associated with a greater prevalence and severity of synovial inflammation imaging biomarkers. Substantial reproducibility and high correlation with knee structural, cartilage compositional degeneration, and pain scores validate the synovial inflammation biomarkers used in this study.
What does all this mean? The more weight, the more inflammation, the more pain, the greater the need for medication, the greater the knee pain, the greater the eventual need for knee replacement.
How Is Knee Swelling Treated
Depending on the type and severity of your problem, treatments range from surgery to home remedies. Non-surgical remedies include:
- RICE: an abbreviation for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation, is best to do shortly after suffering an injury. RICE can be helpful for managing minor pain.
- Compression: wrapping the knee not too tightly in an elastic bandage
- Physical therapy: doing exercises to strengthen the knee and improve its stability
- Wearing a brace on the knee
- Taking over-the-counter pain-relief medication
- If you are overweight, losing weight to reduce pressure on the knee
In some cases pain medication or a lubricating substance might be injected into the knee. Or a needle may be used to reduce swelling by removing excess fluid.
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You May Have An Autoimmune Condition
In addition to rheumatoid arthritis, a number of other autoimmune conditionsin which the immune system attacks the body in various wayscan contribute to swelling and pain throughout the body, including in the knees.
Though less common, systemic autoimmune conditions, like lupus, may cause swelling, Dr. Gladstone says. Like Lyme, these conditions may explain inflammation in the knees when nothing else can. Along with pain and swelling, people with autoimmune conditions often experience chronic fatigue, muscle aches, and low fevers.
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When To See A Doctor
If the swelling doesnt go down in one to three days of using the RICE method, its time to call a doctor.Also, call a doctor immediately if there are any of these symptoms:
- The knee is severely swollen or has a pronounced abnormality
- The knee cannot fully straighten or flex
- The knee is severely painful
- The knee feels like it will give out or cannot support any weight at all
- The skin near the knee is hot or red
- A fever
- Swelling has not gone down after three or more days
If youre experiencing knee swelling that will not go away or have pain, connecting with a specialist is always a good idea. Theres no need to rush into surgery. At Flexogenix, we specialize in cutting-edge, non-surgical treatment options, and can help you move past achy knees and into your best lifewithout invasive surgery. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation.
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Treatment For A Twisted Knee
Immediate treatment for a twisted knee follows PRICE principles. Further treatment will depend on what injury has resulted from your twisted knee you can find out more about the best treatments for specific injuries using the links above.
Protect: Protect the knee from further damage. This may involve wearing a knee splint to immobilise the knee and/or crutches to take the weight off the knee
Rest:Avoid any aggravating activities to allow the knee to recover
Ice: Regularly applying ice for 10-15 minutes every couple of hours helps to reduce swelling and pain. There are a number of different ways to apply ice, but it must be done safely and effectively to avoid creating more problems visit the ice therapy section for more information
Compression:Compression bandaging or tubigrip helps to support the knee and reduce swelling
Elevation: Keeping the knee elevated, ideally above the level of the heart, helps to reduce swelling
If you have twisted your knee and are suffering from pain and/or swelling, follow these principles and get checked out by your doctor.
Early diagnosis of ligament and cartilage tears is vital to reduce to risk of ongoing problems, so do see your doctor as soon as possible after a twisted knee
If none of these meniscus or knee ligament injuries is seeming quite like your problem, visit the knee pain diagnosis section for help working out what is causing the pain.
Articles On Knee Pain
You can do many things to help knee pain, whether it’s due to a recent injury or arthritis you’ve had for years.
Follow these 11 dos and donâts to help your knees feel their best.
Donât rest too much. Too much rest can weaken your muscles, which can worsen joint pain. Find an exercise program that is safe for your knees and stick with it. If you’re not sure which motions are safe or how much you can do, talk with your doctor or a physical therapist.
Do exercise. Cardio exercises strengthen the muscles that support your knee and increase flexibility. Weight training and stretching do, too. For cardio, some good choices include walking, swimming, water aerobics, stationary cycling, and elliptical machines. Tai chi may also help ease stiffness and improve balance.
Donât risk a fall. A painful or unstable knee can make a fall more likely, which can cause more knee damage. Curb your risk of falling by making sure your home is well lit, using handrails on staircases, and using a sturdy ladder or foot stool if you need to reach something from a high shelf.
Do use “RICE.” Rest, ice, compression, and elevation is good for knee pain caused by a minor injury or an arthritis flare. Give your knee some rest, apply ice to reduce swelling, wear a compressive bandage, and keep your knee elevated.
Don’t overlook your weight. If you’re overweight, losing weight reduces the stress on your knee. You donât even need to get to your “ideal” weight. Smaller changes still make a difference.
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What Is The Treatment For Knee Pain
Treatments for knee pain are as varied as the conditions that can cause the pain.
Medications
Medications might be prescribed to treat an underlying medical condition or for pain relief.
If you are taking over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain medications regularly for your knee pain, you should see your doctor to be evaluated.
Physical therapy
Sometimes physical therapy sessions to strengthen the muscles around the knee will make it more stable and help guarantee the best mechanical movements. Working with a physical therapist can help avoid injuries or further worsening of an injury.
Injections
Injecting medications directly into your knee might help in certain situations. The two most common injections are corticosteroids and lubricants. Corticosteroid injections can help arthritis and other inflammations of the knee. They usually need to be repeated every few months. Lubricants that are similar to the fluid already in your knee joint can help with movement and pain.
Complications Of A Swollen Knee
You may develop a Baker’s cyst. This is when joint fluid leaks out into the back of the knee and causes pain and swelling. Treatment usually involves compression and applying ice packs. However, if your swelling is severe, you may need to have the fluid removed using a fine needle.
You may lose muscle mass, especially in your thigh muscles. This is because fluid in your swollen knee can prevent your thigh muscles from working properly over time this causes them to weaken and deteriorate.
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How Long Swelling Lasts
I can not answer this question because there is no right answer to this.
From my experience as a PT with keenness on Knee replacement rehab, I can say that I have seen patients complaining about swelling problems for 3-6 months on average.
However, there were some patients too, who had a swelling present for one or two years after knee replacement.
Bruises Without Any Injury
Sometimes, people develop bruises and forget how they occurred. However, some bruise-like markings on the skin that do not result from an injury may be due to blood spots, also known as purpura.
Purpura is not the same as bruising, although they look similar. This symptom can occur due to a range of conditions, including:
- medications that thin the blood, such as aspirin or warfarin
- malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies
- inflammatory conditions, such as lupus
- inflamed blood vessels, or vasculitis
- a bleeding or clotting disorder, such ashemophilia
- liver disease, such a cirrhosis
- infections that cause toxins to build up in the blood, such as
- some types of cancer, such as leukemia
If a person notices red or purple patches under the skin that they cannot explain, it is best to speak with a doctor.
A person may wish to treat a bruised knee at home with the RICE approach. This involves:
- resting the knee joint
- cooling the area with a compress or ice pack wrapped in a towel for 20 minutes at a time, several times per day
- lightly wrapping the knee in a soft bandage
- elevating the knee above the level of the heart, if possible, to prevent blood from pooling
Do not apply ice directly to the skin, or try to drain the bruise of blood using a needle. If there is a large lump that does not decrease in size after several days, a doctor may need to drain it.
A kneecap or patella fracture can cause:
A person should speak with a doctor if:
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When To Contact A Medical Professional
- You cannot bear weight on your knee.
- You have severe pain, even when not bearing weight.
- Your knee buckles, clicks, or locks.
- Your knee is deformed or misshapen.
- You cannot flex your knee or have trouble straightening it all the way out.
- You have a fever, redness or warmth around the knee, or a lot of swelling.
- You have pain, swelling, numbness, tingling, or bluish discoloration in the calf below the sore knee.
- You still have pain after 3 days of home treatment.
Swelling After Knee Replacement
While some swelling is normal even up until 6 months post-surgery, swelling may also occur as a result of serious complications such as deep vein thrombosis or prosthetic joint infection.
Arthritis of the knee joint is the most common indication for replacement surgery. During replacement surgery, the surgeon gives an incision in front of the knee and cuts/separates tissues to reach the diseased knee joint. During the entire surgery, the patient remains under either general anesthesia or spinal anesthesia.
X-ray showing a total knee replacement.
The surgeon further proceeds to cut and remove the diseased ends of the thigh bone and the shin bone. The removed ends are replaced with metal alloy and plastic parts. The prosthetic joint functions to recreate the motion and alignment of the natural joint.
Swelling and pain are the most common complaints after knee replacement. The swelling is normal and is usually moderate to severe in the first week but gradually decreases for the next weeks and months. Mild swelling may persist normally as long as six months post-surgery.
The swelling persists even after the skin incision heals as the tissues in the body take a long time to get back to their condition before the surgery. The patients may complain of swelling around their knees, below or above their knees. The swelling may get worse at the end of the day with activity.
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Will Surgery Treat And Cure Knee Pain
Surgery
Knee operations range from arthroscopic knee surgery to total knee replacement. Arthroscopic knee surgery is a very common surgical procedure that allows the physician look inside your knee through a few small holes and a fiberoptic camera. The surgeon can repair many of the injuries and remove small pieces of loose bones or cartilage. This is a common outpatient procedure.
Partial knee replacement: The surgeon replaces the damaged portions of the knee with plastic and metal parts. Because only part of the knee joint is replaced, this procedure has a shorter recovery then a total knee replacement.
Total knee replacement: In this procedure, the knee is replaced with an artificial joint.
Other therapies
Acupuncture has shown some relieve of knee pain, especially in patients with osteoarthritis. Glucosamine and chondroitin supplements have shown mixed results in research studies.
What Is Knee Pain
Pain is a common knee problem that can originate in any of the bony structures compromising the knee joint , the kneecap , or the ligaments, tendons, and cartilage of the knee. Knee pain can be aggravated by physical activity, as well as obesity, affected by the surrounding muscles and their movements, and be triggered by other problems . Knee pain can affect people of all ages, and home remedies can be helpful unless it becomes severe.
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Comprehensive Prolotherapy For Problems Of Knee Instability And Wear And Tear And Bone On Bonerepetitive Inflammation As An Anti
Comprehensive Prolotherapy is an injection technique that uses a simple sugar, dextrose, and in some cases, it is combined with Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy to address damage and micro-tearing of the ligaments or soft tissue in the knee. A series of injections are placed at the tender and weakened areas of the affected structures of the knee. These injections contain a proliferant to stimulate the body to repair and heal by inducing a mild inflammatory reaction.
The localized inflammation causes healing cells to arrive at the injured area and lay down new tissue, creating stronger ligaments and rebuilding soft tissue. As the ligaments tighten and the soft tissues heal, the knee structures function normally rather than subluxing and moving out of place. When the knee functions normally, the pain and swelling go away.
In published research in the Journal of Prolotherapy, we investigated the outcomes of patients receiving Prolotherapy treatment for unresolved, difficult-to-treat knee pain at a charity clinic in Illinois. Here are the bullet points of our research:
Use Your Knee Brace And Crutches
If youve been fitted for a knee brace or had one recommended to you, make sure it fits properly. You should be able to insert two fingers under the strap. If its difficult to fit two fingers or if you can fit a third finger, youll need to adjust the tightness. Usually youll wear the brace for two to six weeks.
Use crutches if theyve been given and avoid putting any pressure on your knee until your doctor says its okay. Wait at least two weeks or until your doctor gives you the go-ahead before you bathe, swim, or use a hot tub. Follow a healthy diet and drink plenty of fluids. Eat high-fiber foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables to ensure you have regular bowel movements. This will help while you may not have the benefit of moving around as much as usual.
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When Should You See A Doctor For Swollen Knees
In most cases with a swollen knee, minimal to moderate knee swelling can be taken care of at home. What does it mean if my knee is swollen? The quick answer is the following cases are reasons to contact doctor:
- The knee is unable to full bend or straighten.
- The knee has a pronounced abnormality or is severely swollen.
- There is extreme pain in the knee.
- The patient is unable to walk on the knee and it feels like it is going to give out.
- The area is red and hot.
- The patient has a fever of 100.4 degrees or higher.
- The knee has been swollen for 3 days or more.
If you want to learn more about knee pain, go to:
If one is uncertain about whether the swelling is serious or not, calling a doctor is a good decision to avoid future damage and resolve an issue within the joint. Hopefully, this article has given you some reasons for what does it mean if my knee is swollen?. If the swelling does not go away for an extended period of time, it is probably time to see a JOI Orthopedic Knee Specialist.