11 Potential Causes of Knee Pain After Working Out

Knee injuries can cause significant pain and dysfunction that becomes prominent during or after a workout. Persistent knee pain not only affects routine activities, but it could also be a sign of something more serious that must be evaluated by an expert. At Sports Injury & Pain Management Clinic, Dr. Febin Melepura and his team specialize in treating knee pain-related issues with the most advanced, cutting-edge therapies, techniques, and equipment. Dr. Melepura understands how frustrating knee pain can be and the injury or muscle weakness it causes. He helps you prevent and manage knee pain, ensuring a safer and more enjoyable exercise experience.

We can never know how much we rely on our knee until it hurts with every movement we make. The knee is a complex joint. It consists of bones, ligaments, menisci, muscles, and tendons that support the joint. All of them work together to help us jog, sprint, squat, jump, lunge, deadlift and do so much more. However, you may have achy knees if there is damage or stress to any of those components.

Many physical activities, such as bending, jumping, running, and stretching, can impact or strain your knees, which may cause pain while you work out. While mild knee pain or discomfort after a workout is not unusual, intense pain or inability to exercise could be a more serious problem. There are several potential causes of knee pain after exercise, from tendonitis to arthritis, and the type of treatment will depend on the underlying cause.

Causes of Knee Pain After Working Out

Below are some of the more common conditions that can cause knee pain after working out.

Bursitis

A bursa is a sac that holds a small amount of fluid under the skin above your joint. It protects your bones, muscles, and tendons and helps prevent friction when the joint moves. The kneecap and the lower and inner sides of the knee are most susceptible to bursitis.

Injuries such as twists, falls, direct blows to the knee, overuse, or repeated pressure like bending and kneeling can irritate the bursa on top of your kneecap and cause pain and inflammation. Changes in activity level, such as training for a marathon, infection, and some types of arthritis, can also lead to bursitis. There are multiple bursa in the knee area, and all of them have the potential to become inflamed.

Symptoms of bursitis include:

• Pain and tenderness when you press on your knee
• Pain around your knee
• Pain while moving and resting
• Redness, swelling, or warmth
• Stiffness while moving

Bursitis of the knee can be quite painful, and this pain can decrease mobility.

Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome

The iliotibial (IT) band is a piece of tough tissue or tendon that runs along the outside of your hip down to the outer part of your knee. When you overdo activity, the iliotibial (IT) band rubs against the bone, typically when you bend. As a result, your IT band becomes irritated and swollen and causes pain in your outer knee. This condition is common among runners, especially when going downhill.

Athletes who are most prone to ITBFS are:

• Basketball, hockey, or soccer players
• Cyclists
• Long-distance runners
• Skiers

ITBUS also develops if you do not warm up before exercising. The symptoms first appear when you start working out and get better as you warm up. The initial pain is aching and burning. The more you exercise your leg, the worse the syndrome gets and the sharper the pain becomes. Bending the knee or running down a hill worsens pain.

Jumper’s Knee

It is inflammation in the tendon that connects the kneecap to the shinbone. Also called patellar tendonitis, it is a knee joint injury. Tendons are tough bands of tissue that connect muscles to bones. When you overdo exercise, it strains your tendons, and they can become inflamed and sore.

This condition usually develops in athletes after strenuous jumping, often from playing basketball and volleyball, which involves a lot of jumping. Long-distance running and skiing may also result in a jumper’s knee. Jumper’s knee weakens your tendon and, if untreated, can lead to tears in your tendon. Jumper’s knee primarily affects young athletes. You may experience pain below the kneecap and stiffness while climbing stairs, jumping, and kneeling.

Ligament tears

A ligament is a fibrous connective tissue that attaches bone to bone and usually serves to hold structures together and keep them stable. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) runs in the middle of the knees, on the front. It controls forward movement and rotation of your shinbone. The MCL is located on the inside of your knee and prevents it from bending forward, giving that area stability.

The most common knee ligament injury is to the anterior cruciate ligament. If your feet are planted in one direction and your knee twists in another, it can strain or tear your ACL. MCL tears or strains usually happen because something hits the outside of your knee.

Symptoms of ligament tears in the knee include:

• A loud popping sound at the time of injury
• Feeling unstable
• Pain
• Swelling, typically within six hours of an ACL injury

Football, soccer, skiing, and basketball are sports with a higher risk of ACL injuries. Overextending your joint, landing awkwardly on your knee after a jump, stopping suddenly and changing direction, and getting a hit during a tackle can lead to an ACL or MCL tear.

Meniscus Tear

The meniscus is cartilage that provides a cushion between bones in a joint and absorbs shock. There are two menisci in each knee. They serve as cushions between your thigh and shin bones. Meniscus tears usually occur when an athlete twists or turns their upper leg while their foot is planted and their knee is bent. Kneeling, squatting while lifting something heavy, twisting your knee, getting a blow to the joint, and quickly changing directions while moving can also tear a meniscus.

Meniscus tear symptoms include:

• Locking of your knee in case a piece of the shredded cartilage breaks loose and catches in the knee joint
• Pain that gets worse if you put pressure on your knee or walk
• Swelling the day after the injury
• A hard time bending and straightening the leg
• The sensation of catching in the joint when you are active

Initially, the pain is not bad, and you may be able to continue with routine activities and workout through the injury. Once the inflammation sets in, it causes pain that increases when you squat, lift weights, or get up from a chair.

Osteoarthritis

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common diseases in which the connective tissues in the joint break down over time. As the connective tissue or cartilage is damaged, it causes the bones in your joints to grind together, which produces pain, stiffness, and joint dysfunction. People with osteoarthritis usually have joint pain and, stiffness, after rest or inactivity, for a short period of time.

If you experience inner knee pain while putting pressure on your joints, you may have OA. As this pressure causes the pain, your symptoms may worsen as the day goes on.

Factors that typically worsen knee pain from OA include:

• Having OA for a long time
• Inactivity
• Moving around for long periods
• Repetitive bending
• Using stairs

It is a degenerative disease that occurs due to overuse. You will notice stiffness in the joint that limits your motion. You may have buckling knees and hear a grinding or scraping noise while walking.

Runner’s Knee

It is an overuse injury that affects the knee joint due to wearing down of the cartilage. When the cartilage is gone, the bones of the knee rub together, which causes a dull, aching pain behind the knee.
Also known as patellofemoral pain syndrome, this condition describes the pain you feel if you have one of several knee problems that result from doing activities like running, jumping, or other exercises that put repeated pressure on the knee.

Symptoms of runner’s knee include:

• Pain that is usually felt in front of your kneecap, though it could be around or behind it
• Pain when you bend your knee to walk, squat, kneel, run, or even get up from a chair
• The knee giving out or buckling randomly
• Weakness in the knee and leg
• Restricted movement in the leg and knee
• A crackling or grinding feeling when the knee bends

Most athletes develop a runner’s knee when they change their running mileage or speed or start doing more hill training than usual. Some people experience this problem after surgery or trauma to the knee. Poor nutrition, sleep, and stress may contribute to the injury.

Strains and Sprains

While both affect the knee joint, knee sprains and strains are separate conditions. A knee strain occurs when a muscle or tendon is torn or stretched. The tendons are fibrous cords that connect muscles to bones. A knee sprain occurs when the ligaments in the knee joint stretch or tear. Ligaments connect the bones of your lower leg to the bones in your thigh together in your knee joints.

Injuries, overuse, muscle weakness, reduced flexibility, improper warmup before exercise, and overpronation when running or walking can cause stress to the knee and result in a sprain or strain. An abrupt and unnatural twisting of muscles causes strains and sprains. Both strains and sprains are minor injuries.

Common strains and sprains symptoms include:

• Bruising or discoloration of the skin
• Difficulty moving your muscle
• Joint stiffness
• Pain
• Swelling

Sprains usually occur from excessive stretching or tears. Symptoms will vary depending on the type and severity of the injury but may include swelling, tenderness, and pain in the affected joint.

Infection

A knee infection is a serious condition that often requires immediate medical attention. Knee infections sometimes happen as a complication of trauma, surgery, inflammation, or even after a simple scrape on the knee if you do not receive treatment for cellulitis. Bacterial, viral, or fungal infections from other body parts can also spread to your knees and cause pain. Severe pain whenever you try to move your knee joint indicates an infection.

Other symptoms of knee infection are:

• Inability to move your knee due to pain or stiffness
• Chills and nausea
• Fever that lasts for more than 24 hours
• Swelling around your knee
• Redness or irritation in your knee

An untreated knee infection can damage cartilage and bone and may result in permanent knee damage. The bacteria from your infected knee can reach the bloodstream and spread to various parts of the body.

Knee infections are diagnosed by testing the fluid in your knee. A needle is inserted into the affected joint space, and the fluid removed is tested for white blood cells, viruses, fungi, and bacteria. If needed, your pain doctor may also test your blood or urine for signs of infection.

Dislocated Kneecaps

You might dislocate your kneecap after awkwardly twisting or bumping your knees. When the bones are out of their proper placement and alignment, or one more bone slips out of place, leading to dislocation. Structural abnormalities or traumas, including car accidents, falls, sudden turns and twists, and contact sports, can cause a knee dislocation.

When a kneecap dislocates, it is forced out of its place and can no longer move up and down. This locks the knee and pulls the ligaments out of place, often tearing them. It can cause knee pain and swelling.
Adolescents most commonly have dislocated kneecaps from playing sports.

Signs and symptoms of a dislocated kneecap include:

• A popping sound when the injury happens
• Extreme pain
• Visible dislocation of the kneecap through the skin

A dislocated kneecap is painful and will prevent you from walking, but it is easy to correct and sometimes corrects itself by popping into position. You may need a brace, cast, or splint and will have to limit your activities for six to eight weeks.

Fractured kneecaps

Trauma from a fall, a blow to your kneecap, or a collision can cause fractures in the kneecap, the small bone that sits at the front of your knee. Also known as a patellar fracture, it is a serious injury that can impact your ability to bend or straighten your knee. You may feel pain near the front of your knees.

Other symptoms of fractured kneecaps include:

• A build-up of fluid in the affected area
• Feeling unstable
• Tenderness to the touch
• Trouble climbing stairs
• Weakness

Individuals with osteoporosis or other degenerative disorders that weaken bones can fracture their knee simply by stepping off a curb in the wrong way. Some fractures are simple, but this small bone can break into many pieces, which results in a complex injury. You may require surgery if your fracture is severe.

Home Remedies for Knee Pain

Mild knee pain is common and can be treated at home with the right pain relief measures.
Successful care and treatment of your knee may include a combination of the following:

• Protection
• Optimal loading
• Icing
• Compression – wrapping an elastic band or sleeve around the knee
• Elevation

An updated approach to the more traditional RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) approach, it is highly recommended by doctors for relieving pain caused by painful knee conditions. Over-the-counter pain medications and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs also help to ease swelling and pain.

When to Seek Medical Help for Your Knee Pain?

While knee pain or discomfort developing after a workout can often be managed with home care, persistent or severe pain is not normal and needs medical evaluation. If the knee pain you are experiencing after a workout does not subside, continues to worsen, and starts to affect your routine activities like sleeping, walking, and sitting, you require medical treatment.

Signs you need medical attention

Call your doctor if you are experiencing the following:

• Chronic knee pain – If your knee pain has lasted for more than three months and does not improve with home treatments, get a professional to look at the issue. Worsening of your symptoms can lead to further complications, including dysfunction and loss of training time.
• Limited range of motion – Swelling, mechanical blockage (a piece of loose cartilage becoming stuck within the joint), tight muscles, or even pain can limit your range of motion. This can lead to dysfunction elsewhere in the lower body and cause muscles around the knee, ankle, thigh, or hip to become overworked, tight, sore, or even painful.
• Swelling or redness around the knee – If there is swelling or redness around the knee but without any visible signs of injury or trauma, it should be assessed. It may be some underlying problem causing the swelling, and if it is persistent and painful, it should not be ignored.

Treatment Options for Knee Pain After Working Out

Your doctor may recommend the following treatment options to address your painful symptoms:

Physical therapy

Physical therapy plays a crucial role in knee rehabilitation. A therapist will assess your joint condition to determine the reasons behind your pain and recommend the best exercises and stretches that strengthen the muscles around the knee and help you return to working out most effectively.
Therapeutic exercise with optimal loading is often the best technique for improving knee health.

Injection

Stubborn pain that does not go away with physical therapy and other pain relief methods requires higher-level intervention. Your doctor may recommend a corticosteroid injection to treat your knee pain, depending on the type of pain or its underlying cause. It is administered to the area of the knee that is persistently painful.

Surgery

Surgery is the last option for fixing pain when all other treatments have failed or when removal or reconstruction of damaged tissue is necessary for restoring your mobility and quality of life. A torn ACL or severely torn meniscus requires surgery after a traumatic injury.

Are you experiencing persistent knee pain after exercise – Call Sports Injury & Pain Management Clinic today and schedule an appointment with Dr. Febin Melepura to get back to the activities you love without any pain. Dr. Melepura works with you to diagnose the cause of your knee pain and develops a treatment plan that is best suited for your lifestyle and well-being. He also recommends techniques and therapies to strengthen your joints and muscles that prevent the risk of re-injury and give you a chance to achieve your health goals.

Febin Melepura, MD is a top rated, best in class interventional pain management doctor. He is a nationally recognized pain relief specialist and is among the top pain care doctors in New York City and the country. He is an award winning expert and contributor to a prominent media outlets.

Dr. Febin Melepura has been recognized for his thoughtful, thorough, modern approach to treating chronic pain and, among other accolades, has been named a “top pain management doctor in New York”, and one of “America’s Top Doctors™” for an advanced sports injury treatments.

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