Knee Pain – SPIN

Knee pain complaints at sports medicine offices in Manhattan are nearly as common as back pain reports. And just as when you seek relief from lower back pain, relieving pain in the knee is often as easy as simple homecare techniques as directed by our sports and pain management team.

At the same time, treatment may require many other, more substantial techniques. It all depends on the source of your discomfort and the final diagnosis. In Midtown Manhattan, your best choice for treatment is close by at the Sports and Pain Institute in New York City.

Various Causes of Knee Pain

Arthritis, injuries, and deformities are the main culprits behind painful symptoms inside or outside the knee for many New Yorkers. The source of your pain can come from so many different moving parts in the knee — where you have cartilage, bone, tendons, ligaments, and bursa sacs. Injuries to any of these areas can lead to pain from one of the following:

Tear to your anterior cruciate ligament or ACL. The ACL is a ligament that attaches to your thigh bone and shin bone. ACL injuries are common among basketball and soccer players, as well as other athletes who make sudden stops and turns while playing.
Bursitis. This occurs when the fluid-filled sacs wear down and one bone begins to rub against another, sending you to your doctor for pain relief. Very often, this condition leads to inner knee pain due to wear and tear over time.
Meniscus tear. A tear to your meniscus can happen when you suddenly twist or turn and rupture the natural shock absorbers in your knees The cartilage between your thigh and shin bones also causes inner knee pain when you carry excess weight.
Broken patella. Breaking your kneecap can result from a car accident or a bad fall. When you have weak bones or osteoporosis, you’re more prone to fractures.
Tendonitis and patellar tendonitis occur when tendons cause pain behind the knee and in front of your leg after becoming inflamed and irritated.

Referred pain also is common and can lead to posterior or inner knee pain when you have tendon damage in your hips, feet, or ankles.

Symptoms that do not subside within a few weeks should always be evaluated with a thorough consultation and examination by an experienced doctor for an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan as it may be a symptom of a serious condition that needs full evaluation by pain specialists for appropriate workup.

What Puts You at Risk for Back-of-Knee Pain

Many different sports activities make you a candidate for a knee injury and subsequent pain. Athletes involved in certain sports are at the highest risk for a knee injury, pain behind the knee and in the upper leg, and posterior and inner knee pain.

Orthopedic knee doctors around the world agree that some of the riskiest sports include:

Basketball, during which you have to make a lot of pivots that place enormous stress on your ligaments and patella, leading to back-of-knee pain and stress fractures.
Running is one of those sports that cause damage all up and down your legs. The constant pounding places your knees at risk for injury soon after you begin jogging or after many years.
Skiing has a high incidence of fall risks. Additionally, locking your ankles into rigid boots places more stress on your knees when you do fall or turn awkwardly.

Other factors that can warrant the visit to Dr. Melepura that might lead to the need for knee pain relief include:

Having had a previous knee injury
Carrying excessive weight
Having weak knee muscles and a lack of flexibility

Dr. Melepura can find the precise cause of your symptoms and provide the most advanced modalities to treat them. Emergency, same-day appointments in Midtown, Manhattan are available for everyone in pain.

What Are the Symptoms of Knee Pain?

Though there could be numerous culprits behind pain in the knee, most share the same symptoms, including:

Swelling, bruising, and pain that occur immediately after an injury and can be mild to severe
Depending on the affected structure inside your knee, pain can be localized or may spread to other areas
You may have difficulty putting weight on the affected knee or have trouble fully extending the joint, which may result in limping
You may end up developing an abnormal gait in an attempt to compensate for pain when walking

What Are the Different Types of Knee Pain?

There are two distinct types of knee pain, such as:

Mechanical, which comes suddenly after an injury and typically worsens with movement while subsiding with inactivity.
The inflammation, which builds up with time and is often associated with aging and repeated stress on the knee.

Diagnosing Your Pain

It’s important that our physician gets a complete picture of your knee pain history before coming up with a treatment plan. He needs to know when your pain first started, how bad it gets, when it’s worse, and what gives you relief, if anything. Diagnostic tests for knee pain may include:

Ultrasound
MRI or CT scan
X-rays
Arthrocentesis
Blood tests
Manual manipulation during your exam

What Are the Ways to Prevent Knee Injury?

There are several ways to lower your risk of knee pain, including:

Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight to avoid putting unnecessary strain on your knees
Indulging in low-impact exercises such as cycling or swimming to the flexibility of the joint and strengthen the surrounding muscles
Abstaining from high-impact activities such as running down the hill or playing basketball
Warming up properly before exercising and stretching afterward to avoid suddenly increasing the intensity of your sports activity
Wearing shoes with enough cautioning and support and using shoe inserts if required to avoid issues with feet and gait

Additionally, stick to smooth, paved roads rather than uneven, rocky ones when you’re out walking.

How is Knee Pain Treated?

Treatment always begins with the most conservative techniques, such as physical therapy, strengthening exercises, over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications, and rest. Often, treating underlying conditions such as obesity or rheumatoid arthritis can lead to significant relief.

When the first line of knee pain treatments fails, you may need to visit a qualified knee pain specialist for something stronger or more invasive, such as:

Steroid injections
Hyaluronic acid injections
Minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery
Partial or total knee replacement

When Do I Need to Visit a Knee Pain Doctor?

You should consider visiting an orthopedic physician as soon as possible to receive the appropriate treatment for your knee pain if any of the following criteria apply to you:

Intense or chronic pain
Swelling or inflammation in the knee
Difficulty moving your knee
Instability in the knee
An injury to your knee
The age of 50 and over
A family history of knee problems

Untreated knee injuries can cause permanent damage. If you have severe or chronic knee pain, you should see a doctor right away. The skilled doctors at the Sports Injury & Pain Management Clinic of NYC can quickly diagnose and treat your condition, getting you back on your feet in no time.

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.