Knee Pain: Signs to Look Out For

“Knee pain is common due to injury, age-related degeneration, inflammation, & infection. Many conditions or injuries may cause knee pain, and you should see a Pain Specialist if you have trouble bearing weight, if the pain is intense & doesn’t go away, if you notice a deformity in the joint that allows the leg to bend & straighten, or if there are any other indications that your knee pain is serious” [1]

So What Are the Symptoms of Knee Pain?

There are numerous knee pain symptoms, and you can experience one, or a number of the following conditions:

• Abrupt, intense pain around your knee
• Stiffness
• Swelling
• Bruising
• Tenderness
• Warmth
• Red skin
• A sound of popping at the time of injury
• Instability
• Having trouble walking
• Weakness
• A catching, crunching or clicking noise in the knee joint when you walk
• Inability to fully straighten or bend your knee [1].

Potentially serious signs of knee pain that you should watch out for, include:

• Swelling
• Extreme pain
• Large wounds
• A deformed knee
• Hearing or feeling a popping sound when an injury occurs
• Instability of the knee joint
• Your knee buckling under when you start to walk
• Not being able to straighten up your leg
• Being unable to bear weight on your affected leg [1].

Visiting an Experienced Pain Specialist

The best course of action is to book a virtual, or in-person appointment, with an experienced Pain Specialist, who has an excellent track record in the field of knee pain. The doctor will diagnose your condition, and if it has not been brought on by injury, then he/she will look for the root cause. In the first instance, the Pain Specialist will take a comprehensive look through your medical history, and then, if you have an in-person appointment, he/she will conduct an examination. If your consultation is online, then the doctor will arrange an appointment at the clinic. At this point, he/she will conduct various tests. These could include one or more of the following: an X-ray, an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan, a CT (computerized tomography) scan, ultrasound, blood tests (when gout or arthritis is suspected), arthrocentesis (removing joint fluid) [1].

Discussing Treatment Options

Once your Pain Specialist has looked at the results of any tests, and made a diagnosis, he/she will then tell you about the different types of treatment which would be suitable for your unique condition. A Holistic Personalised Treatment Plan will then be devised. – This is likely to include both conventional and current cutting-edge treatments (including knee injections). It could also involve some appointments with an associated physiotherapist. The important point is not to leave it too late after further, and in some cases, irreparable damage has been done.

[1]. Cunha, D.P. (2021). eMedicine Health. How Do I Know If My Knee Pain Is Serious?
https://www.emedicinehealth.com/how_do_i_know_if_my_knee_pain_is_serious/article_em.htm