Knee Injuries - Diagnosis

There are two main functions which our knees perform. Firstly they flex i.e bend and secondly they extend i.e straighten up. It is because of these two functions of the knees that a person is able to walk, run, kick and sit. So, just imagine what will happen if the knees are injured? It will become very difficult for a person even to perform these basic functions.

Knee injuries can occur on account of various reasons such as indulging in sports or exercises and hurting the knee, making an awkward movement, any direct blow caused to the knee, flat feet in a person, unstable kneecaps and imbalance of the thigh muscles. As soon as a person has his knee injured, it is important that he goes to a doctor for a complete knee injuries diagnosis and treatment to prevent any further damage.

Knee Injuries - Diagnosis

Diagnosis of knee injuries is done to identify the type of the injury so that the corresponding treatment can be given.

Sprains
If during a knee injuries diagnosis, it is found that the knee is strained from a particular direction, then the reason could be that the ligament which holds it in place has torn. Such a ligament tear is known as a sprain. Sprains are medically graded as first degree, second degree and third degree. First degree sprains cause the ligament to stretch but there is no tearing of the fiber. Second degree sprains do not affect the ligament but the fibers may be partially sprained while third degree sprains completely damage the ligaments. Read more on sprained knee.

Strains
An injury in the muscles of the knee as well as the tendons which surround the knee is caused due to its overuse or due to hyperflexion or hyperextention of the knee. Such injuries are medically known as strains. Read more on hyperextended knee.

Bursitis
It is a condition in which there is inflammation in the bursas of the knee. It can be caused due to a direct blow to the knee or due to its overuse. See bursitis.

Cartilage Tear
A knee injury which is caused due to the knee twisting, putting stress on the cartilage, can result in a tear. Such an injury is called a cartilage tear or a meniscus tear. Read more on torn cartilage in knee.

Knee Injuries Diagnosis : Symptoms

To diagnose the type of knee injury, doctors depend upon the symptoms which it produces in the person. If the knee injury is severe, it can lead to pain and swelling in the affected area. The person with a knee injury will face problems while bending his knee as well as in bearing weight. The swelling in the injured knee may come and go and can become severe if the person undertakes any activity in which the knee is used. Severe knee pain too like swelling might be intermittent and may come and go with activity.

If the person feels that the knee is giving away or is unstable, then this signals a ligament injury. If there is a grinding or a popping sound experienced, with the person even unable to bend his knee (known as "locking" in medical terms), the reason could be a cartilage tear. Read more on knee instability.

So for knee injuries diagnosis, the doctor always begins with a physical inspection and examination of the affected area. By doing this, the doctor tries to find out that the bones and other structures of the knee are located in the right place or they have been displaced by the injury. The doctor also identifies whether the knee is held correctly. Then he checks where the pain and swelling is experienced, followed by the assessment of the blood and nerve supply to the foot and the leg. In some cases, such as when it is suspected that bones are broken, doctors might ask for an X-rays too.

Once the knee injuries diagnoses is complete, and if there is no broken bone, then the first course of treatment that is suggested is RICE, i.e resting the area, regular application of ice on the affected area to reduce the swelling and pain, putting compression wraps to hold the knee together, and keeping the knee at an elevated position. The doctors recommend physical therapy and a few strengthening exercises as well. Most of the times, these treatments are more than enough to cure knee injuries. However, if the knee injury is severe, and involves broken bones and other structures of the knee, surgery is suggested as the last option.

Clicking Knee

The knee joints are one of the most crucial joints of our body. The joints are exposed to a lot of stress, as it provides support to the entire body weight. If you are involved in sports activities or any other such strenuous activity, then the repetitive movements of the knee joints put some additional amount of pressure on them. As a result, it is susceptible to various forms of injury involving the bones, muscles and ligaments that are present in the region. Any problems of the knee are alarming for us, simply because we fear that it can affect our body movements in everyday life. Clicking knee is one such problem where an unpleasant noise is emitted when the joint is moved.

Causes and Symptoms of Clicking Knee

Clicking knee can be a symptom of a large number of health related issues. Here we are discussing about some of the major causes that can trigger this symptom. They are as follows:

Knee Injury
If you had a trauma in recent times where you have banged your knee against any hard surface, then it is likely to have caused damage to the knee joint. It may result in fractured bones or stretching of the ligaments or muscle fibers. Depending on the severity of the injury, one gets clicking knee joint along with sharp pain. If the clicking knee pain subsides after a few hours then the injury is not so serious. However, if it lasts longer than that and tends to worsen when the patient tries to walk, then there could be a fracture in the bones or minor or major tears in the ligaments.

Meniscus Tear
Medial meniscus that lies in between the thigh bone and shin bone is a fibrocartilage band which acts like a shock absorber for the knee. It is responsible for maintaining uniform distribution of the body weight on the knee. Usually, it gets torn due to abnormal twisting of the knee joint or over stretching of the cartilage due to overuse. For this reason, one experiences clicking knee when bending or straightening of the knee joint. Here it is accompanied by other symptoms like leg pain and tenderness in the knee joint and blue and black bruise marks can be observed in the region. Read more article on meniscus tear.

Arthritis
If the knee continues to produce clicking sound quite frequently without any knee injury, then it could be warning sign of degeneration of the knee joints or arthritis. It is most commonly found in elderly people. With increase in age, the bones and cartilage of the knee joint deteriorates and the pressure builds up in the area causing the clicking sound. It is accompanied by pain, inflammation and stiffness in the knee joint.

Other Minor Causes
If you get clicking knee no pain during certain movements like climbing up the stairs or while doing squatting exercise, then it is a harmless condition. This is observed particularly, after a period of inactivity. When you do those movements regularly, the the clicking sound will disappear. If the knee clicking is accompanied by a minor discomfort in the knee region, then it could be due to imbalance in the leg muscles. Usually, it happens when the hamstrings are weaker than the quadriceps. This problem can be rectified by the right training of the leg muscles.

Treatment for Clicking Knee Pain

The treatment is based upon the underlying cause of the clicking knee problems. The first thing that needs to be done is to give adequate amount of rest to the legs, in order to minimize the stress on the knees. Then application of ice can provide substantial relief from pain and inflammation. If this home treatment fails to cure the symptoms, a doctor should be consulted. They often prescribe anti-inflammatory medicines to bring down the joint pain. When there is clicking knee without any pain or other symptoms, then medicines are administered to improve the lubrication of the knee joint. If fracture in knee bone is diagnosed, then splinter has to be used to set the bones. Tear in cartilage and arthritic symptoms are often managed with help of rest, physical therapy and knee exercises that strengthen the knees. In case the ligaments are badly damaged, surgical option is availed as a last resort.

When you have a clicking knee joint along with pain and tenderness you must strictly avoid any kind of sudden, jerky movements. All kind of sports activities must be suspended. Lifting of heavy objects can also have a negative impact on the knees. Swimming and short distance walking on the grass can be highly beneficial for clicking knee.

Ligaments of the Knee

The knee joint is the largest joint in the body and forms a hinge between the thigh bone and the bones of the lower leg known as tibia and fibula. It is one of the most complicated joints in the human body and is made up of two articulations, one between the femur and tibia and the other between the femur and patella. It is a pivotal type of hinge joint that permits easy flexion and extension as well as slight lateral and medial rotation. The knee joint is supported by muscles and ligaments, that offer stability and strength to the joint. In this article, we shall discuss the different ligaments of the knee joint.

Ligaments of the Knee Joint

The ligaments of the knee protect the articular capsule of the knee and offer stability and strength to the knee joint. There are two main sets of ligaments that surround the knee joint, the collateral ligaments and the cruciate ligaments. Let us read about them in detail.

Collateral Ligaments
There are two collateral ligaments that run along either side of the knee joint. The medial collateral ligament is located on the inner side of the knee joint and strengthens the joint from inside. It extends from the medial femoral epicondyle to the upper inside edge of the shin bone or tibia. This ligament helps in preventing excessive abduction of the knee.

The second collateral ligament, known as the lateral collateral ligament is located on the outer side of the knee joint. It extends from the lateral femoral epicondyle to the top of the fibula. These two collateral ligaments, together, prevent the side to side movement of the knee joint. They also help in preventing the rotation between the thigh bone and the shin. The lateral collateral ligament is flexible as compared to the medial collateral ligament and is thus, less susceptible to injury. Twisting of the knee, force that pushes the foot outward or a direct hit to the knee can easily result in torn ligament.

Cruciate Ligaments
Another set of ligaments of the knee joint are the cruciate ligaments. The cruciate ligaments are named based on their attachment to the tibia. They are actually short, strong bands of fibrous tissue, that join the tibia to the femur. The anterior cruciate ligament runs posterolaterally from the tibia to the base of the femur. It is attached to the lateral femoral condyle. This cruciate ligament prevents the excessive movement of the femur on the tibia.

The posterior cruciate ligament extends from the rear of the tibia, slightly inwards, to the base of the femur. It is attached posteriorly to the medial femoral condyle. It prevents the excessive anterior movement of the femur bone on the tibia. The posterior cruciate ligament is generally stronger than the anterior cruciate ligament and hence, injuries to the latter are quite common. Landing on a hard surface after a high jump, changing direction rapidly and slowing down suddenly while running, can tear or cause injury to the anterior cruciate ligament. Tearing of anterior cruciate ligament can be a serious condition as compared to the injury caused to any other ligament of the knee. This is mainly because the knee joint stability gets profoundly affected in case of injury to this ligament. Knee exercises can help in strengthening the ligaments and muscles that surround the knee.

This was all about the ligaments of the knee joint. All these ligaments are extremely important for the stability and strength of the knee joint and an injury to any of these ligaments can cause a serious damage to the knee. Hope you found this article informative!