When it comes to knee care, residents who experience sudden pain in this joint want to get to the cause as quickly as possible. In most cases, sudden pain in the knee is due to an injury that will require some level of evaluation. It is important to know what some of the most common causes are so that should you experience this, you can get a faster diagnosis and get treatment started.
Strains and Sprains
These are relatively common and usually occur as a result of twisting or moving the joint in an abnormal way. There are different degrees to these injuries, with the most severe possibly requiring surgery to repair. However, in most cases, people are able to simply rest the injured joint for a short period of time to ensure that it heals completely.
Fracture
If you experience a direct blow to the knee, such as from a fall or getting hit with something, there is a chance that you might experience a fracture in your kneecap. This is essentially a crack in the bone. The treatment will depend on the overall severity of the fracture. However, you will usually have to rest your knee for a specific period of time. For some of this time, you might require crutches so that your injured knee does not bear any weight.
Tendonitis
Tendons are bands of soft tissue that help to support the knee joint. Issues, such as repetitive stress or an acute injury that causes damage to the tendons, might result in you experiencing this type of injury. Pain and issues with range of motion are relatively common when this condition occurs. Like all knee injuries, the overall severity will ultimately determine the course of treatment. However, you can expect that you will need to at least rest the affected knee for a short period of time to allow the affected tendon to heal.
Bursitis
Like tendonitis, repetitive stress is a common cause of this injury to the knee. You have tiny sacs in the joint that work to provide some shock absorption. These are call bursa. Bursitis occurs when they become inflamed. Pain, stiffness, and troubles with your range of motion can occur, forcing you to rest the injured knee until it gets better.
You can see that a number of injuries have the potential to cause sudden pain in your knee. A specialist for knee care in the Fox Valley is a good choice for helping you to get a diagnosis and treatment. This is because they know what is involved in assessing this joint and they are also aware of the latest treatment techniques.
Have Questions?
Request a consultation with one of the knee specialists at the Orthopedic & Sports Institute. Call (920) 560-1000 or request an appointment online.
OSI has convenient locations to serve you. The campus in Appleton includes clinics, a surgery center, MRI, physical therapy, and a skilled nursing facility, as well as a walk-in clinic that provides care for new orthopedic injuries.
OSI has outreach clinics in New London, Ripon, Shawano, Waupaca, and the newest location serving the Green Bay area, inside the NOVO Health Clinic in De Pere.
OSI is a proud member of NOVO Health.