Knee Pain Basics
The first thing you should know is that the knee is one of the most common joints in your body. It comprises two bones, the femur and the tibia, and is held together by a ligament. The knee joint is made to move in three different planes, which is why it can be so difficult to get it right. The primary purpose of the knee is to allow you to bend your leg at the knee.
There are many different types of knee pain. For example, you can have a knee injury, arthritis, or even a sports injury. Sometimes the pain in your knees can be very severe, and sometimes you can feel the symptoms radiating or traveling to other areas of your body.
Since knee pain is a vast topic, the best way to deal with it is by characterizing the symptom as accurately as possible. That’s why we break down knee pain depending on where you feel the sensation and how it feels.
According to knee pain quality, it can be:
- Anterior knee pain: This type of pain is located at the front of the knee, where your patella is located. If you feel pain in the front of your knee, you have probably strained your patella tendon. The patella tendon is a ligament that connects your kneecap to your shinbone. It is imperative to stretch this tendon after any kind of strenuous activity. If you strain this tendon, you can have knee pain and even inflammation. It is not the only cause of anterior knee pain, but it should be ruled out first.
- Inner or medial knee pain: When pain is located in the inner or medial side of the knee, it is usually caused by inflammation and swelling. There may be a small tear in the ligaments that stabilize the knee. You could also have a problem where the tendon meets the bone.
- Outer or lateral knee pain: This type of pain is also known as the runner’s knee, and the usual cause is damage in a structure known as the iliotibial band. This pain is felt in the outer aspect of the knee and results from inflammation and rubbing together of the knee structures.
- Posterior knee pain: This type of knee pain is also prevalent, and the number of causes is vast because many structures go through this area. In most cases, they are soft-tissue injuries that cause these symptoms.