Knee Pain - Causes and Treatment

The knee is a complicated joint and a lot can go wrong with it. Pain can be caused by any number or things. To effectively treat knee pain you must first identify the cause of the pain. Sometimes this can be done by the patient but often it requires examination by a physician or qualified sports medicine practitioner.

Identifying the Cause of Knee Pain
The knee has many ligaments and tendons, any of which can cause knee pain. If the source of the pain is not diagnosed properly the prescribed treatment will most likely not be successful. Some knee injuries can be diagnosed by a simple examination. The medical practitioner will generally apply gentle stress to the knee in various directions and with the knee bent at various angles. Based on feedback from the patient they can often pin point the cause of the pain. However, often an MRI or x-ray is needed in order to determine the cause of the pain.
Once the cause of the pain has been diagnosed it must be determined whether surgery is required or not. If surgery is not required the patient may need nothing more than rest and non invasive treatment or they may require more regimented rehabilitation.

The same injury or cause of knee pain may be treated differently in different people. The severity of the condition is also a determining factor in what course of treatment is followed. When a treatment plan is derived things such as a person’s age, weight, general physical condition, other health issues as well as what type of physical activities the person does for work or pleasure. For instance, someone who is a competitive biker would have an entirely different treatment plan than a grandmother who only wants to be able to walk and do normal daily activities without any pain.

Treating Knee Pain
Knee pain is generally categorized as acute (related to a specific event, injury or accident) or chronic (from overuse, degenerative conditions or normal wear and tear). Regardless of the cause or classification of the pain, the first issue is generally to relieve the pain. Often this is all a patient needs or wants. If additional rehabilitation, such as regaining range of motion or strength, is needed it is frequently necessary to relieve the pain before the patient can begin rehabilitation.

The initial step in many knee pain treatment plans is to reduce swelling and inflammation. This generally done following the Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation (R.I.C.E) methodology. Taking anti inflammatory medication, such as ibuprofen, is also often advised.

Probably the most important parts of R.I.C.E are Ice and Compression. Cold reduces inflammation of the injured are and allows it to heal more quickly and compression helps stabilize the joint and keeps fluids away. Traditionally these treatments are done with a bag of ice and an Ace bandage or knee brace.

Recently more and more people are using a knee ice wrap in place of the bag of ice and Ace bandage. The advantages are many and people often like the results and convenience so much that they are able to continue with cold therapy to treat the injury much longer and also for prevention of further pain especially in the case of overuse. Simply wear the ice wrap for a little while after strenuous activities (much like a baseball pitchers ice their shoulder and elbow after a game or basketball players ice their knees after a game – football players are known to ice their whole bodies in an ice bath after games) at the first hint of pain.