Knee pain is a common complaint among adults and most often associated with general wear and tear from daily activities like walking, bending, standing and lifting. Athletes who run or play sports that involve jumping or quick pivoting are also more likely to experience knee pain and problems. But whether an individual’s knee pain is caused by aging or injury, it can be a nuisance and even debilitating in some circumstances.
Knee pain is a common complaint that affects people of all ages. Knee pain may be the result of an injury, such as a ruptured ligament or torn cartilage. Medical conditions including arthritis, gout and infections also can cause knee pain.
Sign and Symptoms of Knee Pain
The location and severity of knee pain may vary, depending on the cause of the problem. Signs and symptoms that sometimes accompany knee pain include:
- Swelling and stiffness
- Redness and warmth to the touch
- Weakness or instability
- Popping or crunching noises
- Inability to fully straighten the knee
- Knee pain that persists beyond a few days
- Knee pain that occurs at night or while resting
Knee Pain After an Injury
| Knee symptoms | Possible cause |
| Pain after overstretching, overusing or twisting, often during exercise | Sprains and strains |
| Pain between your kneecap and shin, often caused by repetitive running or jumping | Tendonitis |
| Unstable, gives way when you try to stand, unable to straighten, may hear a popping sound during injury | Torn ligament, tendon or meniscus, cartilage damage |
| Teenagers and young adults with pain and swelling below kneecap | Osgood-Schlatter’s disease |
| Kneecap changes shape after a collision or sudden change in direction | Dislocated kneecap |
Knee Pain with No Obvious Injury
| Knee symptoms | Possible cause |
| Pain and stiffness in both knees, mild swelling, more common in older people | Osteoarthritis |
| Warm and red, kneeling or bending makes pain and swelling worse | Bursitis |
| Swelling, warmth, bruising, more likely while taking anticoagulants | Bleeding in the joint |
| Hot and red, sudden attacks of very bad pain | Gout Or Septic arthritis |
How Physiotherapist Can Help
Physiotherapy is aimed at providing:
- Accurate diagnosis
- It is important to differentiate the diagnosis from chondromalacia patellae and patellar tendinopathy as the treatment and prognosis is very different.
- Activity modification
- Your physio is an expert at helping you still stay engaged in the activities that are most important to you while not aggravating your symptoms, as usually you will not have to stop activity all together.
- Pain relief
- There is an arsenal of treatments that a physiotherapist can provide, which includes manual therapy (massage/joint mobilisations), bracing, taping, stretching, dry needling.
- Exercises
- Depending on the cause of the symptoms, your physiotherapist will use their expertise to analyse your biomechanics to identify what is driving the symptoms, and provide a structured, tailored exercise plan to rebuild your strength to be able to tolerate all your previous activities once more.
Exercises that You Can Apply at Home
Inner range quadriceps
This exercise is to strengthen the quadriceps muscle that act as one of the knee muscle stabilizer. During walking or standing, this muscle works to support the knee, thus reducing the impact receive by the knee. Perform this movement and hold the position for 10 -20 seconds and repeats 10 times, 3 sets.
