Knee Joint Diseases

As we grow old, our body starts to get weak. Not only the muscles or specific part of the body, but every part of the body starts to pain. With the pain come the problems and diseases that for sure nobody likes. Here are some diseases related to the knee joint that are actually a big problem because it hinder the movement of a person. Read ahead for what there knee joint related diseases are and how to see whether you are on the way of having one or not.

Osteoarthritis

Are you the one who is facing the pain in the knee joints while working but seeing a sudden decrease when you have rest? Do you have swelling and a feeling of warmth in the knee joint area? Do you feel stiffness in the knee when you sit for a long time and in the morning time? Are all these things hindering your movement and the knees make a creaking sound while moving?

If any of the above signs or symptoms show up, you will have to rush t a doctor because the above symptoms are of osteoarthritis. For all those who have no idea what this diseases is, read ahead. This disease is commonly called as wear and tear arthritis. This one occurs when the natural cushioning that is present between the joints, cartilage, simply wears away. Because of the wearing up of the cartilage, the bones of the joints come into direct contact and start rubbing against each other. This rubbing is the reason you feel pain, stiffness, swelling and your movement slows down. Sometimes, because of this, there is a formation of bone spurs also.

This disease can be seen in the people who are old as the age is one of the major factors for the knee osteoarthritis. But it doesn’t mean that young ones cannot have it. The diseases can be caused because of being overweight also but there are some who have it hereditary. If you have a feeling that you are on the way of getting this diseases and the symptoms above show up, contact a doctor soon and get it treated soon.

Sports Related And Ligament Injuries

There are many people out there who are into sports. Especially the young guys or girls who are into sports, can get injuries easily. Sometimes, the injuries because of sports can be a minimal one but sometimes, the injury can be severe and it needs to be diagnosed properly and treated as per the diagnosis. For all the sports related and ligament injuries, you will first have to know what a knee ligament injury is.

There are some ligaments present around the knee. These ligaments are strong but sometimes, can get injured. They can be injured by being stretched, commonly known as sprain, or being torn (ruptured). The ligament gets a sprain when the fibres which make up the ligament are stretched and few of the fibres are torn. Whereas, the rupture of the ligament can be complete, where the complete ligament is torn or partial, where more of the fibres making up a ligament are torn but the ligament is intact still. See, majority of the knee ligament injuries are the sprains and they can be settled down much earlier than the ruptured ones. There are different things that can cause an injury to the knee ligament like

• A direct blow to the knee or knocking the knee into something.
• The movement of the knee beyond the usual range of its movement. This one usually happens when someone falls and lands awkwardly or because of a sudden movement.

Even though there are different types of the knee ligament injuries, the symptoms for all the types are almost similar. If you have one or more of the knee ligaments injured, you will be able to know it with the help of the symptoms mentioned below:

• When you get injured, a snapping sound can be heard and that is because the ligament tears up completely.
• When you have a ligament injured, there might be some internal bleeding in the knee joint from the ligament that is damaged. This simply leads to the knee swelling. Though, the swelling depends on the amount of the injury. The sprains come with the swelling that might not appear after some hours. But the injuries that have the completely torn ligaments, lead to a lot of swelling which comes quickly and pains a lot.
• The pain that the injury brings with it. Though, the pain depends on the amount of the knee injury.
• The knee area feels tender when touched. The tenderness might be mild because of the minor sprains or severe because of the torn out ligament.
• The other symptom is the injured person is unable to move the knee normally. If the ligament is completely torn, then the movement is reduced very much, whereas, a good amount of movement can be seen in a sprain.
• The feeling that the knee is unstable when you try to stand. This comes with a limp. You will be able to stand if there is a minor sprain.
• The area around the knee is bruised. The bruise might take some time to develop though.

After you have known about the knee injury and the cause behind having one, the next thing that you must know is the different types of the ligament injuries in the knee. Following are the knee ligament injuries that are found in the people and needs to be treated so that the problem does not get too much.

Medial Collateral Ligament (Mcl) Injury

This one can happen in almost any of the sports that people play and can affect people from all the different age groups. This injury usually happens when one leg is stretched out in front and the outer side gets a blow at the same time. Example: Football tackle.

Lateral Collateral Ligament (Lcl) Injury

These are less common than the medial collateral ligament injuries. The reason is the leg usually protects against the injury that can occur to the inner side of the knee. The cause of this injury is usually because of the direct blow to the inner side of the knee. But this can also happen if the leg is stretched out in front and the other leg is not there for protection.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (Acl) Injury

These ones occur most often during sports like basketball, skiing, football and tennis. This happens if the person lands on the leg and after that quickly twist or pivot the knee in opposite direction while being bent slightly. This one is more likely to occur in women than in men. The most probable reason is that the muscles around the knee in women are not as strong as the muscles around the knee in men. About half of people who have this injury also have their meniscus or another ligament injured in the same knee.

Posterior Cruciate Ligament (Pcl) Injury

These ones are not as common as injuries to anterior cruciate ligament. The reason is that posterior cruciate ligament is wider and stronger than the anterior cruciate ligament. PCL can be injured in many ways like when the front of the bent knee hits the dashboard in a car accident and the lower leg is forced backwards. The other way in which it can be injured is from falling and landing on the bent knee. The injury to this part is usually felt later when the person feels the pain later while moving or going up and down the stairs.

Observe the symptoms and rush to the doctor so that the injury doesn’t get worse.

Deformity

After the problems like osteoarthritis and the sports related ligament injuries, the other problem that is mostly seen is the deformities of the knee. The deformities can be a reason that you might develop osteoarthritis in the knees. The knee is aligned perfectly in the load-bearing axis on a line which runs down the leg middle, through the ankle, the knee and the hip. When there is not the perfect alignment of the knee, there is a deformity and they are:

• Varus (bow-legged)
• Valgus (knock-kneed)

The malalignment of the knees can be seen frequently in toddlers, and the legs straighten out as the child grows. The malalignment of the knee is usually caused by a congenital condition like the Blount’s disease or by the nutritional disorder called Rickets that is because of the Vitamin D deficiency. While in adults, the malalignment of the knee can be caused by any knee trauma or arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis, especially).

Varus Alignment Of The Knee: Bow-Legged Knees

If you are among those who have this type of deformity, then you are at the higher risk of getting knee osteoarthritis. Plus, when the knee osteoarthritis develops, the varus alignment will definitely get worse with time. The reason is that the malalignment causes the load-bearing axis to shift to the insides of the legs which causes more force and stress on the inner knee compartment.

If you are overweight, the risk of getting the knee osteoarthritis after the varus alignment is higher than the ones who are not. In fact, the malalignment just increases the risk of getting the knee osteoarthritis five-fold in the patients who are over-weight.

Valgus Alignment Of The Knee: Knock-Kneed Legs

This deformity is the opposite of the bow-legged deformity and it can also lead to the problem of knee osteoarthritis and the problem will definitely worsen with the passage of time. The reason is that the valgus alignment of the knees moves the load-bearing axis of the leg to the outside of the legs which causes increase in stress across the outer knee compartment.

The valgus alignment is not as destructive as the varus alignment but both of the deformities of the knee stress the knee and that too, especially the articular cartilage. With the damage to the cartilage and causing the narrowness in the joint space, the deformities also affects the menisci and the meniscal damage is one of risk factors of its own to develop knee osteoarthritis. The valgus malalignment affects the lateral meniscus whereas the varus malalignment affects the medial meniscus.

Any problem of the body is not good and if you are feeling or observing any of the symptoms discussed above regarding any problem out of the osteoarthritis, sports related ligament injuries or the deformities, simply go to a doctor and get the problem diagnosed so that the knee joint can be saved or replaced as per the diagnosis as soon as possible. Because nobody wants to have the good for nothing knees. I hope not even you want that, right?