The Prevalence Of Knee Pain Problems
It is always difficult to understand and establish the true origin of knee pain and problems as the knee pain might be occurring from numerous causes. A majority of the findings available at the moment indicate towards the relation of knee pain to arthritis as it is a persistent disabling condition with a notable impact on health. In a research study of 3341 participants aging over 65 years living in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom shows that there is almost 32% of the older population suffering from knee pain. There is a shortage of research reports on the incidence and prevalence of knee pain in developed countries. However, the available studies suggest there is extensive difference between the countries as well as between the urban and rural settings.
Moreover, all the data shows that the prevalence of knee pain was higher in women than in men and Rural Iran has the highest record of 39% prevalence of knee pain among the female population. The experts state that the increasing trend of body mass index (BMI) correlates with the increasing risk of osteoarthritis. In addition to the increasing age factor, the studies also suggest that the prevalence of knee pain was greater in people with a higher body mass index. The increasing trend of the prevalence of knee pain among the obese population also reveals that the people with 40 years or more age are more likely to suffer from knee problems as the excess body weight and older age causes more wear and tear of knee joint.
Although the reported knee pain incidents are higher in older patients, but it does not match up with the radiographic changes of arthritis. The last three decades mark the increasing trend of knee pain among adult of 70 years age group. The pattern of the prevalence of symptomatic osteoarthritis in younger population suggests that six percent of the 45 year age group and five percent of the 26 year age group population suffer from the radiological changes and pain symptoms of osteoarthritis. The study states that there were 24% of women and 11% of men over the age of 55 years suffer from symptomatic patellofemoral osteoarthritis which is more severe than osteoarthritis.