Knee pain is one of the most prominent pains that a person can suffer from in his life for a variety of reasons, including working conditions or may be caused by various injuries.

Dr. Rafat Dhair, an orthopedic specialist in Istanbul, offers through Anatolia a set of tips and definitions related to the symptoms of knee pain and ways to treat it.

While dividing the types of knee pain by age, he cautioned against ignoring treatment because it exacerbates the pain and complicates and makes treatment difficult over time.

"The knee joint consists of the confluence of the femur and tibia, where the knee joint helps humans while walking, sitting and moving," Dhair said.

"Knee joint pain leads to difficulty in movement, disturbs the patient, and is caused either by the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments, the internal and external meniscus, the cartilage that covers the tibia and thigh, the internal and external lateral ligaments, or synovial synovial fluid in the knee," he added.

Cruciate ligament injuries

Regarding cruciate ligament injuries, Dhair said that "in most cases they are caused by a sudden movement when the foot is fixed in the ground with a sprained knee."

"The patient has rapid swelling in the knee joint with the inability to walk or bend the knee, and after a period of time after the injury, symptoms of anteroposterior instability in the knee joint are produced when climbing stairs or when walking," he said.

"The diagnosis is through clinical examination and MRI, while the treatment of these cases is through arthroscopic cruciate ligament reconstruction, using tendons around the knee joint," Dhair said.

"After rehabilitation and physiotherapy, most cases can return to normal life," he said.

Tear of meniscus

As for the tear of the meniscus cartilage, Dhair said, "The injury in the meniscus is divided according to age, in young age the tear is the result of an injury or sprain in the knee joint that leads to a tear in the meniscus only, or it is accompanied by an injury in the anterior cruciate ligament."

"The patient complains of pain while walking, sitting, bending the knee joint, and after clinical examination and MRI, the patient needs to perform arthroscopic surgery," he said.

"In people under 40-45 years of age, it is possible to repair the torn meniscus without removing any part of it by laparoscopic, and this is done through a number of stitches used depending on the location of the tear and its size of cartilage," he said.

According to Dhair, "the patient needs to use a knee rest with gradual bending after the operation, and perform physical treatment of the cartilage that leads to healing in the existing tear."

He pointed out that the rupture of the meniscus in the elderly is "the result of laceration over time, and the treatment is by removing part of it by laparoscopic."

The doctor warned against "non-surgical intervention in the case of a complete rupture, as this leads to the presence of persistent symptoms of the knee joint in the short term, and in the long term, the presence of the tear and the lack of surgical intervention leads to friction of the torn cartilage with the knee cartilage and leads to early roughness of the knee joint."

Leg and thigh cartilage

The doctor talked about the cartilage that covers the leg bone and thigh in the joint, saying that it "covers the femur and leg and helps to soften the movement of the joint, and its erosion begins with age."

He explained that "the age factor, in addition to genetic factors, weight and lifestyle, all help to increase the percentage of wear in cartilage, and there are 4 degrees that determine the size of wear in cartilage:

  • The first and second stage are simple pains when walking with pain in the inner side of the joint, and the treatment is through drugs and exercises to strengthen the quadriceps, and in some cases the patient can be given collage drugs or knee injections with plasma that is separated from the patient's own blood.
  • In the advanced stages of roughness and the fourth degree of roughness, surgical intervention is resorted to by replacing an artificial knee joint, and after the operation the patient can walk painlessly."

Lateral ligaments of the knee

As for the collateral ligaments of the knee, Dhair says that they "help the lateral stability of the knee while walking, and in most cases the injuries are caused by sports with side bruises during them."

"The treatment of these cases is through a knee corset placed for 4 to 7 weeks," he said.

In a few cases, he concluded, surgical intervention was used in cases of severe injury to the collateral ligaments, with a concomitant injury to the meniscus or cruciate ligament.