How To Tell If a Knee Injury Is Serious

Knee injuries can range from mildly uncomfortable to devastating. If you have hurt your knee, it is essential to get the damage assessed for the best care and treatment. At Sports Injury & Pain Management Clinic, Dr. Febin Melepura provides the most advanced pain treatment care for your knee injuries. He examines your joint carefully, evaluates the severity of damage, and comes up with personalized treatment options that help relieve pain and other symptoms that are affecting your daily activities. He focuses on stabilizing the joint so you can resume proper, pain-free movement.

The knee joint is one of the largest and most complex structures in the body. It is also most vulnerable to many different types of injuries caused by physical stress, falls or accidents, overuse, or forceful movement. Anything from sports injuries to repeated bending or kneeling can damage the knee joint and lead to pain, inflammation, and other symptoms.

The knee consists of bones, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. Common knee injuries involve damage to these parts, such as fractures, torn ligaments or tendons, damaged cartilage, or dislocation of the knee cap. The main signs of knee injury are pain and swelling that you can feel and see straight after an injury, in some cases a few hours or at times, a few days later.

What Are Considered Serious Knee Injuries?

Depending on the severity, even the most common knee injuries could be serious. Although fractures are serious injuries as they involve broken bones, dislocations, ligament tears, cartilage tears, and tendon tears can also be critical knee problems if they require medical treatment, or in some cases surgery, to correct them.

According to experts, injuries can cause a lot of swelling in the knee, especially in younger patients. The rapid onset of swelling, in which it becomes hard to see where your kneecap is, is a sign that something serious has happened to your knee. Swelling that comes on suddenly is usually caused by blood trapped in the joint. It typically occurs within three to four hours of the injury. If the injury is a torn ACL, the small blood vessel is also torn.

ACL tears are complete tears and can occur from the thighbone, shin bone, or in the center of the ligament. If this is the case, you will have significant swelling on your knee. If your knee looks like a grapefruit, get it checked without wasting time.

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What Are the Symptoms of a Knee Injury?

Most knee injuries have very similar symptoms.

Some of the most common symptoms that you may experience after a knee injury include the following:

• Intense pain
• Swelling
• Stiffness
• Redness
• Warmth to the touch
• Instability
• Weakness
• Crunching sensations
• Popping sounds
• Inability to straighten the knee

If you experience one or more of these symptoms, it indicates you may have a knee injury.

Signs Your Knee Injury Could Be Serious

Symptoms of knee injuries can tell you a lot about your injury. The level of pain and difficulty in movement can give you an idea of whether or not your injury is severe and needs medical treatment.

Several factors indicate a more serious knee injury, including:

Knee Instability

Knee instability is the sensation of the knee twisting or moving from side to side when doing basic activities. You may feel knee instability after you suddenly stop, twist, or change directions, pushing your knee joint past its normal range of motion. If you feel your knee is unstable, chances are it is injured.

Knee Locking

Some injuries make it difficult for you to fully straighten the knee, which results in knee locking. This condition can have different causes, including swelling, inflammation, and meniscus tears. When the meniscus tears and moves into the middle part of the joint, this prevents the joint from straightening properly.

Weakness of the Knee

If you feel intense pain and weakness in the knee and cannot bear weight on it, it means you have an injured knee. Ligament tear, dislocation, and meniscus injuries can cause knee weakness. The inability to put pressure on your knee, or stand normally is a sign of serious knee injury that must be checked by a specialist.

You Feel or Hear a Pop

The popping sensation felt or heard during a knee injury may indicate a torn ligament. This type of injury can cause sudden, sharp pain and instability in the joint. The pop comes from tissues within the knee tearing.

Severe Swelling of the Joint

Swelling is a common sign of injury. It occurs when fluid accumulates around the joint as the body’s healing response. Initial swelling is mild and usually subsides with rest and elevation. However, if you notice a significant increase in swelling within a few hours of injury accompanied by intense pain and restricted mobility, it could be something more serious, such as a fracture or a torn ACL.

Difficulty Walking

While minor injuries like bruising do not stop you from walking, severe injuries and knee pain can make it difficult to flex your joints and walk. If you are experiencing greater difficulty walking, it may be a broken bone or torn ligament that needs medical intervention.

When Should You Worry About Your Knee Injury?

Do not take your knee injury lightly. It is best to visit a doctor if you are having intense pain in the knee, even if you don’t think it is from a major injury. The only way to determine what has happened and if it is something serious is by having a specialist examine your knee.

One of the telltale signs that you may have torn something is hearing or feeling a pop in your knee when the injury occurred. This pop could be indicative of torn tissue within the joint. If left untreated, a knee injury can lead to further injury and serious complications.

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When to See a Doctor for a Knee Injury?

If you suspect you have suffered a knee injury, it is better to get it checked by a medical professional. Pain and swelling in the knee should not be ignored, even if you don’t think it is due to any other injury. You can try home care such as resting, icing, and taking over-the-counter pain medications, but if your pain does not improve the same day or your knee continues to swell, visit your pain managementdoctor.

Unbearable knee pain will not go away until you finally seek treatment. It is necessary to see a doctor right away for an accurate diagnosis of your injury and its severity. You may need prompt medical attention to prevent the knee pain from worsening and developing a deformity.

Lack of timely treatment can lead to long-term problems and compromise your knee’s function and stability, which may affect your overall mobility and quality of life.

Are you struggling with knee pain and want to know about the seriousness of your injury – Call Sports Injury & Pain Management Clinic today and schedule an appointment with Dr. Febin Melepura for a complete evaluation of your knee injury and the best pain treatment. Addressing your knee problems as soon as possible and most effectively could aid in recovery and save you from re-injury and pain in the future. Dr. Melepura not only diagnoses and treats knee injuries but also provides rehabilitation for his patients. He recommends the best approaches and therapies that strengthen your affected joints and relieves pain through various exercises.

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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