Knee injury is one of the most common and frustrating ailments anyone can experience.
It can become injured in sporting activity as well as in daily life.
Chronic knee conditions can also develop over time, without any kind of deliberate or intense activity.
What exactly is your Knee?
The knee is the central portion of your leg.
It moves like a hinge, opening and closing, which allows you to bend and straighten.
This creates movements like sitting, squatting and allows you to run, walk and jump.
Types of Knee Injury
There are so many types of injury to your knee that you can experience.
From fractures and dislocations to patella tracking problems.
We're going to cover some of the most common that we see in our practice.
Patella Femoral Pain Syndrome
This type of injury is in reference to a broad category of pain over the front of the knee.
It's characterised by broad pain and stiffness over the knee cap. Most likely to occur with athletes, but equally can occur with non athletes also.
This pain and stiffness experienced can make it difficult to climb stairs, kneel down and perform every day duties.
Most likely caused from overuse with repeated activity, tension in the muscles and a possible mal-alignment of the knee itself.
Pain is most often experienced as a dull ache over the knee. Pain with bending the knee such as with kneeling or activity or sitting for an extended period of time.
Patella Tendonitis
This is a common injury of the tendon that extends either side of the patella itself. Extending from the quadricep muscle and into the tibia.
Known as an infrapatella tendonitis (below the knee cap) or a suprapatella tendonitis (above the knee cap).
Anyone can develop inflammation here, but it is most commonly seen with athletes.
Factors that can bring on this inflammation are tension in the muscles as well as activity that requires lots of jumping. So basketball, volleyball and sports like tennis where lots of stopping and starting occurs.
You may experience swelling and as the injury progresses a burning pain over the tendon.
Patella Tracking Issues
Simply put, patella tracking injuries are where the patella itself does not track evenly through the groove of the femur.
Most commonly the patella pulls to one side (the outer side) but it can also pull to the inside.
The pull is usually governed by tension within the quadricep muscles. It is also dictated by weakness in muscles and repetitive activities that put stress on the knee.
A key symptom is a feeling that the knee isn't gliding properly as well as a feeling of it slipping or catching when bending.
Cartilage Tears
This injury is in reference to the cartilage that sits within the knee itself known as he meniscus.
The function of this cartilage is to act as an absorbing sponge of the weight of the body and the stresses of running, walking etc.
A meniscus tears most commonly due to twisting injuries, or hyper flexion of the knee.
In some instances conservative treatment of rehabilitation and strengthening can take place. Where more serious tears are present then surgery may be required.
Whilst often asymptomatic once injured, often the injury itself remains front of mind. Swelling and initial discomfort along with instability are the most likely and obvious symptoms.
Ligament Tears
The knee is stabilised by key ligaments that support the medial and lateral parts of the knee.
These are found on the exterior of the knee.
Within the knee joint itself, additional ligaments support the knee from moving too far forward or too far backwards.
These ligaments are taught and designed to keep the knee stable and sturdy. Damage here will create instability.
These ligaments are most likely injured with sudden forces, sudden twists or blunt forces, most commonly at speed.
If the injury to an ACL or PCL is severe enough then further injury to the meniscus can also occur.
Conservative care is definitely indicated here with minor injuries. But with more severe tears then surgery will be required.
