Discover effective strategies to prevent runner's knee and alleviate knee pain with expert tips from Dr. Khera. Stay active and pain-free with our comprehensive guide. First, runner’s knee is not for runners as the name may suggest to many people. It is also not a specific injury but rather a collective term that is used to describe the pain that people feel when one or more problems affect the knee. Most doctors call it patellofemoral pain syndrome because of its anatomical involvement. It involves the patella commonly known as the knee cap and the femur bone, the bone just above the knee the joint.

Some of the Conditions That Could Be Causing Runner’s Knee

The moment you feel the knee pain on your knee, probably the anatomical normalcy of the parts has been interfered with. But which part? It is hard to tell because the knee joint is a large joint containing patella, tibia, and fibula as well as the femur bone articulating at the same points. Below are some of the possible causes.

• Patellofemoral malalignment-The patella and the femoral malalignment could cause severe pain. These two parts are not supposed to be interfered with but due to excess stress or injury, the two could undergo malalignment causing a lot of pain to the person.
• chondromalacia patella-This is a condition in which the cartilage on your kneecap or patella deteriorates causing pain and joint weakness. Most people with arthritis face this condition because the pathological degeneration is what occurs during the pathogenic invasion.

Iliotibial band syndrome-Your knee joint normally contains connective tissues and ligaments. These structures support your joint and give its strength to function. Due to extreme forces from hitting or stress, iliotibial bands may be injured and this will result in a lot of pain and tenderness around your joint. This pain is caused when the connective tissues rub against your thigh bone causing irritation of the pain receptors.

Possible Occasions That Can Cause Runners Knee

Anything that interferes with the normal anatomical and physiological wellbeing of the knee is most likely going to cause pain on your knee.

• Overusing Your Knee-Some people are fond of using their knee to uplift heavy materials. Like when carrying heavy loads, many people put the loads on their knee before carrying it up. Such pressures could lead to intense stress on your knee cap leading to injury of ligaments and other tissues.
• Direct Hit on Your Knee-This may sound so obvious but you can dislocate your knee joint if you hit it. An example is during games like football and rugby when you are hit by a car or motorcycle or anything that could lead to the exertion of extreme force on your knee. Take care and make sure you don’t allow such a force to hit you on your knee or femur or tibia and fibula region.
• Weak Quadriceps- Quadriceps are muscles found on the front of the thigh and they help in movement and holding your patella in position. If these muscles become weak for one reason or the other, the patella ends up becoming lose and you end up feeling a runner’s knee. It is normally very painful because the patella would be rubbing on the tender structures of your joint.

How Can I Tell If It is Arthritis and Now Anatomical Deformity or Compromise?

The pain could be more intense to the extent that you feel it is a fracture on your knee. Many people, especially ones in their 60s normally confuse it with arthritis. To differentiate runner’s knee from arthritis, you need to understand that arthritis is more of knee inflammation. It affects both knees bilaterally. Check the history of pressure on your knee, if you had any stress on your knee or you were hit, that could be a cause the runner’s knee.

Important Tests and Examination You Need to Undergo to Reveal the Cause of Runner’s Knee

When you feel the pain on your knee, you don’t know what could be wrong on your knee. This means even treatment is not guaranteed because you don’t know what needs to be administered to make you feel better. As a result, the doctor may recommend tests that would reveal all the exact cause.

• X-Ray-This will only reveal the bone alignment and arrangement
• MRI and CT scan-Incase the bones are perfect, you then need to check on your connective tissues and soft tissues. These two tests can be done to make sure all illnesses are perfectly revealed
• Biopsy-This is the examination of a small tissue of your knee joint. It helps in pathological illnesses like arthritis so that the causative agent is confirmed and proper treatment offered.

Treatment of Runners Knee

To treat runner’s knee, you need to know the cause. The treatment may be done at home or you may need a specialist to make sure you are perfectly handled. Below is how treatment can be done at home.

• Rest-This is especially if it is due to the stress of the knee, make sure you rest enough to prevent further injury
• Raise Your Legs Up-If your leg is swollen and you want to make sure you reduce the swelling, take a pillow and raise your legs so that you restrict fluid to your knee.
• Cold compressions-Cold compressions are important because they enable you to reduce inflammation thereby reducing pain on your knee joint

Pharmacological Management of Runner’s Knee

If the pain is severe, you may need to take some medications that will help reduce the pain. The most common medication is analgesic because it helps in blocking pain impulses thereby eliminating pain perception from your brain. Analgesics are offered to reduce swelling as well.

Surgical Management of Runner’s Knee

If your knee is fractured or some ligaments and connective tissues are not in order, you will need to make sure you are operated on to return every structure in the required place. The doctor will explain to you all these when you do the medical diagnostic tests so that you know exactly what is going to be done to you. Operation is done under local anesthesia and it does not have a lot of side effects especially if done properly.

Conclusion

Treatment of Runner’s knee depends on the cause of the pain beneath it. As described above, treatment modalities vary from problem to problem so you need to see a doctor to be well-examined so that a proper therapeutic approach can be put in place.