According to Mayo Clinic expert James Levine, M.D., Ph.D., "Getting out there and taking a walk is what it's all about." Levine, a Mayo Clinic expert on obesity, also states "You don't have to join a gym, you don't have to check your pulse. You just have to switch off the TV, get off the sofa and go for a walk." Walking is very popular and it has many health benefits. However, walking can be a problem for people with knee pain or other injuries. Knee pain is a common injury and it can cause serious pain for people who like to walk.
Anatomy of the Knee Joint
The text "Examination of Orthopedic and Athletic Injuries" states that the knee joint has little bony support and must rely on soft tissue structures to control the forces transmitted across the joint. The knee joint is where the femur, or thigh bone, and the tibia, the larger bone of the lower leg, meet. The joint spaces are cushioned by the cartilage menisci and surrounded by a ligament capsule and strong stabilizing muscles. The patella bone is also associated with stability of the knee joint and is located above the joint in the surrounding muscles.
History: What Caused the Injury
To determine the cause of knee pain while walking, a history of how the knee was injured is necessary. Injury to the knee can be caused by direct trauma, such as a blow to the knee, or excessive rotatory forces to the knee cartilage and ligaments. The textbook "Examination of Orthopedic and Athletic Injuries" also states that aging itself can place the knee at risk. The text says that the knee cartilage reaches its maximum strength between the ages of 20 and 30 and the strength dramatically declines with increasing age. Other factors in the history that help to determine the cause include location of the pain, how the injury happened, whether the person was weight-bearing at the time, and whether a sound or sensation was felt or heard at the time of injury, such as a pop or snap.
Causes of Knee Pain
Pain in the knee occurs with damage to the soft tissue around the joint and can also be affected by arthritis, altered posture, improper bio-mechanics and injury or direct trauma. Knee pain can also be referred from areas elsewhere in the body, including the low back, pelvis, or other areas of the lower extremity.
According to the text book "Sports Medicine A Comprehensive Approach," other common causes of knee pain include soft tissue injuries such as ligament tears, cartilage tears, bursitis, and tendinitis.
Bio-mechanical dysfunction, including altered foot mechanics, degenerative changes in the joint space, muscular imbalance or tightness or changes in posture and gait that result in altered mechanics also an cause pain. Arthritis, including the most common form, osteoarthritis; rheumatoid arthritis; gout and pseudogout, or Infection also can casue pain. Other causes include Osgood-Schlatter disease, osteochondritis dissecans, or chondromalacia patellae, also known as patellofemoral syndrome.
Treatments
The knee joint is a complex area and it is subjected to strong forces. Based on the history of the injury, the type of treatment will vary. Some common forms of treatment include rest, ice, chiropractic, exercise, physical therapy, medications, and surgery.
Prevention
To prevent knee injuries it is important to stretch, warm up, exercise to control weight, and use proper form in sports. It is not always possible to prevent injuries, but by increasing your flexibility, losing a few pounds, and using correct technique in your exercise and athletic activities, you can potentially avoid injury.
References
- Mayo Clinic
- "Examination of Orthopedic and Athletic Injuries Edition 3"; Starkey C, Brown SD, Ryan J. 2010.
- Mayo Clinic-Knee Pain
- "Sports Medicine A Comprehensive Approach 2nd Edition"; Scuderi GR, McCann PD. 2005.
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