Of : Caring For Your Knee At Home Over The Long Term
Knee Injury Risk Factors
- Sports – Many sports require movements that place added stress on your knees Skiing, for example, can lead to stress on the knees due to the restricted movement of your feet. Another example is basketball where players have to pivot and jump. These sudden and repetitive movements can put stress on the knees.
- Previously injured knee – If youve already hurt your knee once, then it may not be as strong as it was before. Unfortunately, this could make it easier for you to injure your knee again.
- Excessive weight – If you put on a lot of weight, your bones have more work to do to support that mass. For those who are very overweight, even ordinary daily activities can cause wear and tear on the knees.
- Weak muscles – A lack of strength and flexibility in your muscles can also contribute to knee injuries. Strong muscles protect bones and joints. Aside from this, they also make you very stable and balanced, thereby decreasing the risk of falls.
- Gender – Women are more likely to develop knee injuries simply because of how their bodies are built, for example, the way their hip bone is attached to the thigh bone and the fact that they carry greater mass on the lower body.
Physical Therapy After Knee Replacement Surgery
Outpatient physical therapy is typically prescribed after discharge and will usually begin within a week of surgery. A physical therapist will teach the patient:
- Knee strengthening exercises
- Knee exercises to encourage range of motion and reduce scar tissue
- How to use assistive walking devices, such as a walker and cane
Don’t Miss: Does Lidocaine Work For Nerve Pain
What Is Knee Pain
Knee pain can occur for many reasons, most commonly because of overuse, injuries or arthritis. You can experience knee pain at any age, but older people are more likely to develop it due to degeneration of the joint, a condition known as osteoarthritis.
Depending on whats causing your pain, you may feel better with rest, anti-inflammatory medication and ice. If you have a more severe injury, you may need a procedure or a surgery.
Surgeons often use minimally invasive types of surgery to repair damage to the knee like torn tendons or ligaments. These types of injuries can cause knee instability and pain. In cases when the damage is severe, your healthcare provider may recommend knee replacement surgery.
Knee anatomy
The knee is made of
- Skin.
- Cartilage – protective lining and shock absorber for the bones.
- Meniscus – a type of cartilage to cushion deep in the joint.
- Tendons- fibers that connect muscles to bones.
- Ligaments- tissues that attach bones to other bones.
- Bursa- thin protective pads under the skin.
Looking After Your New Knee
- continue to take any prescribed painkillers or anti-inflammatories to help manage any pain and swelling
- use your walking aids but aim to gradually decrease the amount you rely on them as your leg feels stronger
- keep up your exercises to help prevent stiffness, but do not force your knee
- do not sit with your legs crossed for the first 6 weeks after your operation
- do not put a pillow underneath your knee when sleeping as this can result in a permanently bent knee
- avoid twisting at your knee
- wear supportive shoes outdoors
- do not kneel on your operated knee until your surgeon says you can
- raise your leg when sitting and apply an ice pack wrapped in a tea towel for 20 minutes every 3 or 4 hours to reduce any swelling
Page last reviewed: 02 August 2019 Next review due: 02 August 2022
Recommended Reading: Shoulder Pain After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy
Knee Pain Relief 6 Natural Treatments Including Exercises
Next to back pain, knee pain is one of the most common complaints among both older adults and younger athletes. Knee injuries are one common cause of knee pain, but you dont have to fall, trip or get into some type of accident to hurt your knees.
What can cause knee pain without injury? Arthritis, overuse, osteoporosis, certain types of exercises like running, and repetitive movements are all potential causes of knee pain.
How do you relieve knee pain? Identifying the underlying cause of your pain is the first step. Treating health conditions that might contribute to inflammation , exercising appropriately, maintaining a healthy weight, stretching and doing certain knee exercises can all greatly help you find relief.
Removing Fluid From Knee Simple Steps To Think About
- A light and gentle massage can also be used to gradually drain fluid from your knee.
- Light pressure applied in a circular motion can help the connective tissue underneath the synovial fluid to realign.
- A course of physical therapy exercises can also provide a similar effect. Another course of action that has shown great promise in alleviating the inflammation associated with knee diffusion is dietary glucosamine supplementation.
- A study out of the Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences has suggested that a home remedy salve made out of cinnamon, ginger, and sesame oil, can have an impactful and effective action on arthritic patients.
- Arnica ointments, when applied liberally over the swollen joint, can help to alleviate inflammation. A warm bath or hot water-bag over the joint can temporarily ease symptoms.
When fluid accumulates in the knee joint due to traumatic injury or through the trauma of surgery, it is often necessary to aspirate. Synovial fluid aspiration, also known as arthrocentesis, is performed by a doctor or physicians assistant and involves the insertion of a surgical needle into the knee joint cavity. Arthrocentesis is quick and relatively simple. Usually, repeated aspirations will be necessary until the underlying cause of the effusion is identified and treated successfully.
Recommended Reading: Is Stomach Pain A Symptom Of Pregnancy
Question 6 Of : How Long Does It Take For A Torn Meniscus To Heal Without Surgery
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.
You May Like: Does Lidocaine Work For Nerve Pain
How Much Recovery Time You Should Expect
Now, as for how much recovery time you should expect, academic research found that if you follow a safe strengthening regimen you will notice a reduction in pain after 3 to 4 weeks , but repairing the tendon completely will take at least 3 months .
Now you can see why its so important to avoid mistakes that add additional months to your recovery time.
What Id like you to do next is leave a comment below this video and tell me how long youve been struggling with this injury and if you discovered any other mistakes that also slow down healing, share them with me and the other readers so that we can benefit from your experience.
Also, if youre new here, I recommend you join my free email course on patellar tendonitis. It will show you great healing exercises to get you back to your sport as soon as possible. You can sign up right below this video or by going to fix-knee-pain.com/tendonitis.
Lastly, if you know someone with patellar tendonitis or have friends in jumping sports such as basketball or volleyball, give them a head start on this injury by sharing the link to this video.
Waste Time On The Easy Exercises
Its simple. Human beings seek pleasure and avoid pain. The harder exercises like bending your knee) can be tough but they get massively better each day if you just stay at it. Many people are adept at avoiding the tough exercises by working extra on the easy exercises and guess what they will prolong their recovery time from total knee replacement, an outcome that virtually no one wants.
Recommended Reading: Stomach Pain Pregnancy Symptom
Mistake #2 Will Make Your Patellar Tendon Weaker
The second mistake seems safe, especially since doctors recommend it all the time, but it will actually make your tendon weak and fragile.
Lets get straight to the point: resting too much also weakens the tendon. Much like lying in bed when youre sick will make you weaker.
Everyone with chronic patellar tendonitis knows that resting doesnt get you back to 100%. To strengthen your tendon and recover from patellar tendonitis, you need to apply just the right amount of training at just the right intervals.
Resting will not get you back to 100%.
In my book Beating Patellar Tendonitis, I recommend people use a training journal to track their pain levels. Once youre tracking your pain scores you can start doing tendon-strengthening exercises such as very slow eccentric squats or isometric wall-sits two or three times per week.
Next, you use your pain scores to adjust your training so that pain goes down over time. This ensures progress and I highly recommend you do it too. Without this systematic approach, you can only guess which training intensity is safe for your patellar tendon and as soon as you do too much, youll reinjure your tendon, which will cost you additional weeks of recovery time.
Pain Behind The Knee: Causes And How To Treat Back Of Knee Pain
Jenny Hills, Nutritionist and Medical Writer Health
Pain behind the knee can have a serious impact on your daily activities. Sharp pain at the back of your knee can affect walking and cause discomfort when standing or walking up stairs. Pain and swelling behind the knee can also cause stiffness in your knee joint, inflammation, and possibly, a lump at the back of your knee.
There are many reasons for mild to severe pain behind the knee. For example, a ligament tear, a pulled muscle, fracture to a bone in your knee, or wear and tear can also cause varying degrees of pain behind the knee. The knee pain can cause you to limp, make it difficult to walk, or you may not be able to bend your knee at all.
Knowing how to treat pain behind the knee requires knowing what is causing it. However, usually, hot and cold treatments can help to restore mobility to your knee joint and ease the pain. In some cases, if the leg pain behind the knee is caused by blood clot or cyst, you need to get it checked out by a doctor.
In this article, you will learn about the various reasons why you could have pain at the back of your knee.
Read Also: Workouts With Broken Wrist
What Is The Best Treatment
Draining fluid from your knee and the recovery time will depend on the chosen treatment and underlying cause of the fluid accumulation. Physical activity should be avoided at all costs for at least a few days after each aspiration session. The discomfort associated with knee effusion is often not eliminated even after a full aspiration and doctors will often prescribe mild analgesics to help patients deal with pain.
How Effective Are Turmeric Supplements For Knee Pain
A study involving 367 people with moderate to severe knee osteoarthritis found that taking turmeric curcumin extracts for 4 weeks was as effective in reducing knee pain, knee stiffness and improving knee joint function as ibuprofen but with fewer gastrointestinal side effects.
Turmeric can be combined with glucosamine and chondroitin to produce a faster onset of action and improved results.
I recommend selecting a turmeric supplement that provides solubilised turmeric, as this is 185 times better absorbed than normal turmeric powder, for a more rapid onset of action.
Also Check: Blueberries Give Me Diarrhea
Can Knee Injuries Be Prevented
Unfortunately, no matter how much we try to be careful, there is always the risk of an innocuous incident or unlucky accident causing a knee injury.
However, we can take precautions to decrease the risk of injury or prevent the wear and tear of the protective layers around our knees. Here are some practical tips to lower the chances of hurting your knee:
How Can I Prevent Runner’s Knee
- Keep your thigh muscles strong and limber with regular exercise.
- Use shoe inserts if you have problems that may lead to runner’s knee.
- Make sure your shoes have enough support.
- Try not to run on hard surfaces, like concrete.
- Stay in shape and keep a healthy weight.
- Warm up before you work out.
- Donât make sudden workout changes like adding squats or lunges. Add intense moves slowly.
- Ask your doctor if you should see a physical therapist.
- If your doctor or physical therapist suggests it. Try a knee brace when you work out.
- Wear quality running shoes.
- Get a new pair of running shoes once yours lose their shape or the sole becomes worn or irregular.
Read Also: Does Lidocaine Work For Nerve Pain
How Is Arthritis Of The Knee Treated
Healthcare providers can’t cure knee arthritis. But they have some tips that might reduce the severity of your symptoms and possibly stop the arthritis from getting worse, including:
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Exercise using low-impact activities instead of high-impact activities . Aim for about 150 minutes of exercise per week.
- Wear shock-absorbing inserts in your shoes.
- Apply heat or ice to the area.
- Wear a knee sleeve or brace.
- Physical therapy exercises that help with flexibility, strength and motion.
- Use a cane.
Most people have stage 4 arthritis when they get surgery.
Mistake #1 Will Completely Prevent Recovery From Patellar Tendonitis
Lets start with the most serious mistake. If you make this mistake, you will completely prevent recovery and heres why
In patellar tendonitis, your body tries to strengthen your patellar tendon by putting more collagen fibers down inside of it. These fibers are like the threads of a steel cable and the more of these fibers there are the more force the tendon can handle.
For this to work, you have to allow your body to do its job, by giving it appropriate rest periods. If you dont rest enough, your tendonitis will progress into a more advanced stage in which the fibers of the tendon have become messy.
The more the alignment of collagen fibers degenerates, the longer it will take you to recover from patellar tendonitis. This is why every week you continue your regular training in spite of patellar tendonitis is at least a week added to your recovery time because youre causing more damage that youll eventually have to repair.
Academic research also confirms that continuing your regular training while rehabbing patellar tendonitis stops healing and that athletes should be removed from sports activity during rehab.
Also Check: Is Stomach Pain A Sign Of Pregnancy
