Knee pain is a common complaint that we see in our clinic at Advanced Healthcare Inc.

It is a big subject, so we have listed the most common causes below that we see in our clinic. If you do not find what you are looking, for please contact us. We are happy to help.

1) Local Causes:

• Trauma - causing excessive movement (instability)
• Overuse - repetitive movements, associated joint dysfunction
• Inflammatory conditions (inflammatory arthritis) - rare
• Underlying pathology (osteomyelitis/infection, tumours) - very rare

2) Referred pain from:

• Low back facet joints
• Sacroiliac joints
• Hip joints
• Muscles over the hips and surrounding the knee

3) Nerve compression in:

• Low back
• Pelvis
• Thigh

• Feet (ie. flat feet - pronation)
• Hip
• Pelvis

What can I do to prevent knee pain?

Traumatic injuries

When it comes to traumatic injuries we suggest that you use common sense in the activity you participate in:

• use appropriate equipment,
• assess the risk,
• don't push yourself beyond your ability and
• don’t participate if you are injured.

• so prepare yourself well for the activity you are planning to participate in
• and warm up before starting the activity.

• it is important to have a structured training program
• build up your activities gradually.

• don’t do it more than twice a week to start with
• and do half the distance or time you were planning to do.

• we are all different and need different amount of rest between sessions
• and we can cope with different levels of training.

As with all orthopaedic conditions involving the muscles and joints, it is important not to ignore them. The longer you leave a problem to progress the more difficult it will be to help and treat it.

For example, with patello-femoral pain the injury causes inflammation in the joint and during the inflammatory process chemicals are released inside it that reduce the lubrication of the joint, which promote further breakdown of the cartilage. So it becomes a vicious cycle.

It is compounded further by taking anti-inflammatory medication, some of which have been shown to slow down healing or even promote breakdown of joint cartilage.

Location of pain in different knee disorders

Location of pain in different knee disorders divided into:

1. Traumatic injuries (e.g. impact, collision, fall), and,
2. Non-traumatic injuries (e.g. overuse injuries, gradual onset).

Pain in the front of the knee (anterior)

• Traumatic injuries

• Bursitis - a fluid filled sac, which protects surrounding tissues, may become inflamed
• Patella (kneecap) fracture
  

• Non-traumatic injuries

• Patello-femoral disorders - often due to overuse
• Patella tendonitis - excessive jumping e.g. basketball players
• Osgood-Schlatter’s syndrome
  

Pain in the back of the knee (posterior)

• Traumatic injuries

• Bursitis
• Calf muscle tear
• Posterior cruciate ligament tear
  

• Non-traumatic injuries

• Hamstring tendonitis
• Osteoarthritis (OA) - common in over 40s
• Bursitis
• Bakers cyst
  

Pain on the inside of the knee (medial)

• Traumatic injuries

• Medial collateral ligament (MCL) tear
• Medial meniscus tear
  

• Non-traumatic injuries

• Medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain
• Osteoarthritis (OA)
  

Pain on the outside of the knee (lateral)

• Traumatic injuries

• Lateral collateral ligament (LCL) tear
• Meniscus tear
• Fibular head injury
  

• Non-traumatic injuries

• Ilio-tibial band syndrome - common in runners
• Popliteus tendonitis