Knee or hip pain can cause a lot of distress in life. You might take it lightly, but the situation can also be because of some serious underlying conditions.
Here, we will discuss the primary causes and explore various treatments for such joint pain.
Reasons why you have knee and hip pain
Without a proper diagnosis, it would be hard to pinpoint what your situation is exactly. Thus, if your knee or hip hurts, ensure you consult the right orthopedic doctor. Don’t ignore it if it is very sharp and intense, affecting your day-to-day life.
The following are some of the reasons why you might be having joint pain in the knee or hip.
Causes of Knee Pain
There are many reasons for knee inflammation. Under broad categorisation, we can say that it can be caused because of injuries, mechanical problems, and types of arthritis.
Injuries that can cause knee swelling with the accompanying pain are as follows.
Ligamentous Tears: The knee has a total of four ligaments. Medically, they are called ACL, PCL, LCL, and MCL. It is enough to know that these are soft and strong bands of tissue offering bone-to-bone connectivity among bones involved in making a knee joint.
When any of these connective parts of your knee sustains tears causing inflammation around the area, you will experience debilitating pain.
Torn Meniscus: You must have put cushions below your legs or head while relaxing on the couch! Such soft and protective cushion-like pads are also found in the knee.
They serve to absorb shock and prevent the knee joint bones from wearing down due to rubbing against each other.
Knee Bursitis: Your knee also contains little fluid-filled sacs called bursa. These components of the knee further cushion surrounding things reducing friction-induced heat and degeneration (wear and tear).
When injuries happen to these structures causing inflammation, this is called bursitis in medical parlance.
Fractures: The knee is mostly made out of bones. Thus, knee pain can also be due to the inflammation of the bone, called Osteomyelitis; a fracture is one of the reasons for this particular condition.
Patellar Tendinitis: There is a little bone in the front part of your knee. It is called the Kneecap or Patella. The painful inflammation of this part is called by this name.
The following mechanical problems are also responsible for painful knee joints.
Loose body parts—there are a couple of reasons why one of your knee parts might come loose disturbing other structures and initiating swelling, pain, and redness in the concerned area.
IIiotibial band syndrome—do you have to run long distances regularly? If yes, the reason your knee has started being painful recently might be because of this condition. It is an inflammation of a part of your knee that connects all the way from the hip joint to the knee joint.
Dislocated kneecap—in front of your knee, there is a structure called kneecap or patella. When, because of external traumas like accidents or otherwise, it goes away from its usual anatomical position in the knee, it is called a dislocated kneecap.
Hip or foot pain—your knee pain right now could be caused by the fact that you have been suffering from hip or foot pain for a long period. This is because to avoid hip or foot pain, you must have walked in a way that has put more weight on your knees than otherwise.
Besides, there are several types of arthritis as well that can cause knee inflammation causing pain, for example, osteoarthritis.
If you are old and your knees are chronically stiff and painful, it is due to osteoarthritis. Only the right orthopedic doctor can tell you for sure which arthritis might be causing the inflammation of the knee. In case you have to consider knee replacement surgery in India, make sure you get it done from a good orthopedic surgeon.
A well-qualified, highly experienced surgeon is a must before you go for a replacement.
Causes of Hip Pain
There are many causes of the pain in the hip joint as well. All the causes can be divided into the following: Arthritis, Injuries, Pinched Nerves, Cancer, and Other Problems.
Only the right doctor can detect what might be causing your hip pain.
If your hip pain is chronic, your doctor might suggest an arthroplasty. This will offer you a pain-free life post-operation. For the best outcomes for hip replacement surgery in India, always connect with a well-qualified doctor.
Treatments
If your pain in the knee or hip is not chronic and has started for a few days or recently, your doctor will treat the same with the help of medicines and physiotherapy. And you will just have to take enough rest.
Often, temporary joint pain tends to go away with adequate rest, sleep, and dietary precautions.
In the cases of arthritis, your doctor may also start medicines to relieve pain and physical discomfort if it is appropriate.
Injections are another option. Corticosteroids and hyaluronic acids are often used. The former is to work on the flaring pain whereas the latter is for lubricating stiff and tender joints.
Sometimes, PRP is the best solution to cure joint inflammation and pain. This is medically known as platelet-rich plasma therapy.
In addition to that, if a joint cannot be treated with the help of drugs and physiotherapy, surgical intervention will be administered. You might have to undergo partial knee replacement, arthroscopy, or total knee replacement.
Conclusion
A knee or hip pain if stayed for long mustn’t be overlooked. It might get worse. Chronic pain in such joints could be an indication of internal inflammation and degeneration. Only the right treatment in time can save the situation.
