Dr. Vikash Kapoor

Knee Problems

There are several knee problems found people are suffering from either caused due to certain diseases or for some injuries. The details of most commonly faced problems are given below:

Arthritis - there are various forms of arthritis found all of which aim at affecting the knee joints in a way or the other. Hence, it is highly essential to arrest the symptoms of such a vulnerable disease at a very initial stage to minimize the chances of consequences. The three main types of arthritic conditions on the basis of severity are -

1) Rheumatoid Arthritis -

It is an autoimmune disorder that affects the human body parts usually at a younger age. In this disease immune system attacks on several body parts starting with the membrane called Synovium that works on lining the joint. As a result of the same several disturbances like massive pain at some crucial parts of the body, inflammation in tissues and other organs occur. If proper medical treatment is not given to the patient it can lead to serious issues like loss of mobility and functioning for the knees and other joints affected.

2) Osteoarthritis -

It is one of the commonest problems with the knee joints the patients are experiencing these days. Though mostly old adults are troubled with the problems of Osteoarthritis but recent researches proved that people of all ages have the complaint of same problems. Overweight and joint injuries are described as the root causes of this disease. If not treated at the beginning then situation may become worse with the process of aging especially when the patient reaches the age of 60. Young generation having this problem in most of the cases inherit the same.

3) Rheumatic Diseases -

There are various forms of arthritis found symptoms of which vary depending on the affected body parts. These are in general known as Rheumatic diseases. Gout, Ankylosing spondylitis, Infectious arthritis, Psoriatic arthritis belong to this category.

Gout - it is a painful arthritic condition which includes inflammation, and swelling too. Usually joints like knees, ankles, elbows and wrists are affected with this disease.

Ankylosing Spondylitis - like Gout, it is also an inflammatory arthritis that causes body stiffness, severe joint pain leading to a massive destruction to the spine.

Infectious Arthritis - as the name indicates, this kind of arthritis is experienced by the patient due to some infectious agents like virus or harmful bacterias. A common symptom of this disease is frequent fever that the patient suffers from. Adequate medical treatment is required in time to get rid of this disease otherwise gradually it would affect the joints of the human body.

Psoriatic Arthritis - it is an inflammatory arthritic condition that affects the joints like other rheumatic diseases. This kind of disease is either found in the patients already having Psoriasis or in them who are on the verge of getting affected with Psoriasis.

4) PCL Tear -

Posterior Crucial Ligament, in short, PCL is a ligament that helps the tibia in maintaining the position just below the thigh bone (Femur). PCL suffers from dashboard injury which is a common mechanism of injury. Dashboard injury is experienced if any object strikes the shin backwards forcefully while the knee is bent.

Sports injury is another injury occurs in knee when it is hyperflexed or if the sportsman falls on front of his knee. These injuries create a major stress for the PCL thus resulting in a PCL tear.

5) ACL Tear -

One of the four major ligaments of knee is the Anterior Crucial Ligament which is also known as ACL. ACL plays a vital role in maintaining the knee stability. ACL tear is mostly experienced by people who are associated with the sports like football, tennis, basketball, volleyball etc. However, depending on the strength of muscle, reaction time for muscle coordination and contraction it can be said that women are more prone to ACL injuries than men. Generally, people reaching the age of 40 are more diagnosed with this injury due to the constant wear and tear of ligaments. Knee locks, massive pain, swelling are some of the common symptoms of a ACL tear.

ACL Reconstruction Surgery - Is It Required?

Anybody or everybody having a problem with the ACL may not have to undergo a surgery for the betterment of the knee. There are certain symptoms given below that indicate when the ACL reconstruction surgery becomes indispensable -

• Knee pain that is too severe to bear with

• Unstable condition of the knee that refrain a person from performing the regular activites uninterruptedly

• Apart from ACL, other three ligaments are also seriously injured

• Knee condition that makes a person stay away from various kinds of sports

The success rate for this surgery is higher than the other medical alternatives provided required of time and effort is given to heal the patient completely. Success of the ACL surgery solely depends on how effectively a person is following the rehabilitation program.

Patella Injuries - Knee joint is made of three bones - tibia, femur and the patella. Kneecap or mostly known as Patella along with the other two bones are covered with a cartilage layer.

Patella dislocation belongs to this category of injury. Unlike ACL tear, this type of injury can be experienced by both athlete as well as non-athlete. In case of athlete men are prone to get this kind of injury more than women whereas among non-athlete, women mostly suffer from the patella disorders.

Meniscus Injury - One of the commonest knee injuries sportsmen frequently deal with is the Meniscus injury. In this injury patient experiences severe pain in the knee joints. Usually sports related injuries are the reasons for a meniscus tear. When a moderately flexed knee gets twisted meniscus becomes injured traumatically.

Chondromalacia - Chondromalacia Patella or Chondromalacia is a disorder found in the kneecap. It is basically a malfunction caused due to the softening of articular cartilage. There can be many reasons behind such a disorder but injury, muscle weakness and overuse are the commonest ones that a patient of an younger age experiences mostly.