Do you really think that if your knee is paining then it must be knee arthritis? There are many misbelieve regarding knee pain and arthritis. Let’s understand it with some real life example.
There are two patients, are of same family, coming to orthopaedic surgeon with knee pain. One is 35 years old male with pain in inner side of the right knee. The other man is his father, age 60 years, with pain in right knee at the same site. They took some medicines advised by a doctor and tried some home remedies. Both felt good with those medicines and remedies. Now the question is what was the reason for painful knee for both of them? Whether it was arthritic pain or something else? But do you really think at the age of 35, a person would get arthritis of knee? Then what about his future?
In India there is huge misunderstanding regarding knee pain. Each and every person with knee pain has different cause behind it. People would understand that differential diagnosis is must.
So many reasons would lead you to knee pain. Injury, overuse injury, fracture, arthritis might be those reasons behind painful knee. Especially in young age, 25-40 years, knee pain would be caused by any injury or fracture. People of this age are more active and they are more prone to injuries. It is quite possible that pain would start after long time of initial injury. The other cause of knee pain in young age would be altered biomechanics. Lack of exercises makes your muscles weak and also makes your joint less stable. Less stable joints are more prone to injuries. Young age knee pain could be tackle with some sort of specific exercises along with supportive medicines.
On other side, the pain would be caused by aging process, .i.e. Degeneration. All the reasons of pain in young age might have gathered to cause arthritis of knee. Obesity, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking etc. are predisposing factors for more pain in arthritic knee. Generally arthritis is being started after the age of 50 years. But exceptions are very often in medical field. There is no specific medicine for arthritic knee pain. A doctor would treat you symptomatically. An arthritis pain origin is not under doctors’ or not under patient’s control. A line of treatment would be some exercises, painkillers, glucosamine, vitamins like Vit-D3, magnesium, calcium, hydrocortisone injections and lastly reconstruction (joint replacement). We cannot cure arthritis, but we can control it.
Understanding of knee pain requires thorough examination and assessment.
