What is knee pain?

Your knees consist of bone, cartilage, ligaments, and fluid. In addition, your muscles and tendons help your knee move. When any of these parts suffer from injury or disease, knee pain and other symptoms result, including:

• Swelling
• Stiffness
• Redness
• Warmth to the touch
• Weakness, instability, or inability to fully straighten your knee
• Popping or crunching noises

What are the different types of knee pain?

Two different types of injuries lead to knee pain: overuse and acute. Some overuse injuries that lead to knee pain increasing over time include:

Patellofemoral pain

This is the most common cause of overuse knee pain. The pain results from weak or tight muscles, as well as from flat or high-arched feet, knock-knees or rotated hips. It may also result from increasing physical training too quickly.

Bursitis

Your knee gets lubricated by joint fluid produced by the lining of the joint and by your bursa sacs, which can become irritated and inflamed as a result of injury, excessive pressure, or overuse.

Tendonitis

Your tendons begin to degenerate or weaken anywhere between your kneecap and the tendon’s attachment to your tibia, causing you pain during movements that require rapid, forceful knee straightening.

Osteoarthritis

This is a wearing out of the shock absorbing tissue covering the bone surfaces within your knee. The most common form of this causes morning pain and mild stiffness that improves with movement, but returns upon an increase in activity.

Acute injuries that cause knee pain include:

Muscle strain

Muscles that straighten and bend the knee are susceptible to strain. This occurs most often in sports requiring rapid acceleration and deceleration.  

Meniscus tear

The meniscus is a particular type of cartilage located in your knee joint between your thigh and shin bones. There are two in each knee, and both are susceptible to tearing from injury.

Knee ligament sprain or tear

Four ligaments hold your knee together. Injuries occur most often during seemingly innocuous movements, including cutting, pivoting, or landing from a jump.

How is knee pain treated?

Your knee pain treatment depends on its underlying cause. Our team of doctors at Oak Brook Medical Group seek to find the most natural way to relieve your knee pain, so your treatment may include:

• Physical exercises and stretches to strengthen your knee
• Supportive footwear or knee braces
• Chiropractic adjustments and manual joint manipulation
• Regenerative medicine, like stem cell therapy or platelet-rich plasma therapy

Stem cell therapy and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections both harness your body’s natural healing abilities by promoting new tissue growth. Stem cell injections can potentially decrease inflammation around your knee, repair cartilage, and slow the progression of osteoarthritis, all while reducing painful symptoms.

If you have knee pain, call or make an appointment online today with one of our doctors at Oak Brook Medical Group in Oak Brook, Illinois.