Osteoarthritis is the commonest form of arthritis in knee. It is a degenerative process of the knee (wear and tear). The cartilage layer of the knee joint gradually loses its water content and hence is prone for wear and tear, exposing the underlying bone. You would notice that your knee is swollen or deformed along with pain. Pain whilst climbing stairs and walking are some of the early symptoms leading to rest pain and night pain in severe cases.
Knee
Arthritis of Knee
Rheumatoid arthritis on the other hand is an inflammatory process of the covering of the knee joint. This in turn leads to destruction of the cartilage layer of the knee joint exposing bone in severe cases. Symptoms are similar to osteoarthritis, however deterioration is rapid and could lead to rapid progression of pain and deformity if not intervened in a timely manner.
Anterior Knee pain
Pain in the knee could be due to a large variety of conditions. It is not uncommon to have pain in the knee due to a condition of your hip or back. These are called referred pain.
However, the commonest causes of chronic anterior knee pain are as below:
- Chondromalacia Patella:
- Adolescent knee pain:
Commonly seen in the age groups of 20s to 40s, it is characterised by pain in the front of your knee. It is as a result of softening of the cartilage and could happen either due to vitamin D deficiency, maltracking of your patella (knee cap), tight thigh muscles, flat-feet or even due to excessive stress, activity or load placed on the joint.
Non specific pain in the front of the knee sometimes associated with a bump on the front of your upper leg. It often affects your daily routine or even limits sports activity. It is thought to have happened due to a growth spurt.
Your surgeon will take a detailed history and examine you to help determine the cause and carry out necessary investigations.
Patellar Instability
A sudden give way of knee might be one of the earliest symptoms you would have noted. Usually starting at the time of adolescence, the patella (knee cap) dislocation happens due to imbalance in its supporting structures including ligament, muscle and in some cases the shape of the knee bone and knee cap.
These are mostly treated conservatively with physiotherapy; however recurrence is noted in many. Apart from it being a traumatic episode and nuisance on recurrence, it could lead to arthritis of the knee joint itself.
Meniscus tears
The meniscus is a strong fibrous cartilage in your knee joint and primarily acts as shock absorbers of the joint. There are two menisci; lateral and medial and bean shaped. They also have a wedge profile which helps in accommodating the architecture of the joint. It is nourished peripherally by small blood vessels, but the major portion of the meniscus is devoid of any blood supply.
Two most common causes of menisci tears are noted; traumatic and degenerative. A tear of the meniscus could lead to pain, swelling of the joint, restrictive movement, locking of the knee or sometimes a feeling of instability.
Your surgeon shall conduct a detailed examination and carry out necessary investigations where necessary.