Knee pain sounds normal to me as my grandmother and her peer groups often complain about knee pain and inflammations. More than a quarter of the American population suffer from knee problems after they pass the age of 45. Your knee is a vulnerable joint which can get hurt easily. It is so due to its structure, location and use. The common problems which affect knee are Sprained knee ligaments, Jumper’s knee and Kneecap pain. But did you know that your knee pain can be due to various factors? It can be the result of an injury like Bursitis, Tendinitis or ligament injuries, medical conditions like Gout, Arthritis or infections or even due to the dislocation of kneecap.

Symptoms

• Ligament Injuries- If you happened to twist or bend you knee too far in a wrong direction you may get a sprain. The ligament may also tear as a result of this. A tear in one of the four ligaments of the knee can cause immediate pain as you walk or try to bend your knee. You may also feel your knee to be weak and hear it make a popping sound.
• Dislocated Kneecap, Patella Injuries or Kneecap Pain-- The bone (patella) that covers the front of the knee may slip out of place causing severe pain and swelling. You may be able to see the dislocation of the bone. Knee pain after prolonged sitting or descending stairs relates to patella injuries.
• Bursitis and Tendinitis (Jumper’s Knee)- The bursa or the small sac of fluid that cushions the knee joint may get torn due to injuries as in sports or other activities of the like. It may cause red, inflamed and painful knees. You will have pain while climbing up and down the stairs and while kneeling down. Athletes or runners may injure their tendons of the knees leading to inflammation and pain. They cannot run, jump or straighten their knees without causing further pain. Jumper’s knee causes pain right below your knees and is seen mostly in basketball and volleyball players.
• Meniscus Injuries- The injury or tear in the cartilage (meniscus) can cause a lot of pain. The two menisci located in the inside and the outside of the knee distributes the body weight across the knee joint. The injury to the menisci can be due to old age or physical exertion. It results in agony, limited joint movement and tenderness.
• Septic Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis- Septic Arthritis is mostly a bacterial (or fungal) infection in the knee that results in pain, swelling and at times fever. It may lead to many complications including death. People with infected blood, a traumatic injury or a joint replacement surgery are under the risk of getting infections in the knee. Rheumatoid arthritis may not have symptoms in the beginning as it is an autoimmune disease. It causes chronic inflammation of the joints with pain, stiffness and redness. Osteoarthritis is degenerative and is caused by the breakdown and eventual loss of the cartilage. It may occur as you age or may be secondary to some medical condition like obesity or a surgery.

You can take care of your knee pain at home by taking some additional care. You will require a surgery only in a very advanced stage. What matters here is protection and adequate rest.

Protect you knees. A compression wrap may work for most of the minor injuries.Take a break from any activity that may cause pain or soreness to the knee. Use padding to protect any possible repetitive injuries. Rest your joints to avoid straining the areas. It will give the injured area enough time to heal. After giving rest, start by gentle exercises and stretching. When resting, place a small pillow under your knee to prop up. Elevate your knee above the level of your heart to reduce swelling. You can do this as you ice the area or when you sit or lie down. Compression (wrap or brace) will help to reduce swelling and to keep the patella in tact. You can get an elastic or neoprene sleeve with a hole to hold your kneecap in place. Icing is another way to reduce inflammation for both acute and chronic injuries. It can be done for 10-15 minutes at a time. Take an OTC pill (non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug)to relieve the pain.

We all know that prevention is easier and cheaper. In order to prevent knee problems stretch your muscles in the front and back of your thighs well. You can also try Hamstring stretch and Knee-to-chest stretch. Forget high-heels. Use proper footwear for running (shoes with arch support) or related activities. Reduce weight if it adds stress to your knees. Quit smoking as smoking interferes with tissue repair.

Always get the help of your doctor at the right time!

-Aparna K V

Retired Hurt!

Bursitis and Tendinosis are common injuries that affect sports persons. Bursitis is seen less common than the latter. Bursitis and Tendinosis can curb the performance of the sports stars or put an end to their careers. They easily affect people who have to make rapid movements of the joints or those who have to twist or apply constant pressure to these areas. They cause pain and swelling in areas like legs, knees, hips, wrists, elbows and shoulders.

Bursitis is an injury that occurs due to the overuse or constant pressure on a joint. The affected areas swell and redden with increased temperature. In simple terms, Bursitis is the inflammation of the bursa. A bursa refers to a small fluid-filled sac that functions as a gliding surface to reduce friction between tissues of the body. It cushions the joint and helps with the joint glides. The bursa can get injured due to an injury, infection, old age or by the underlying rheumatic condition of the person. Bursitis develops quickly and is repetitive. People with activities like gardening, carpentry, shoveling, painting, scrubbing, tennis, golf, skiing, throwing, and pitching are at a great risk of developing Bursitis. Your bursa can get injured also due to ignorance and negligence- incorrect postures during activities or not doing stretching before physical activities. People with rheumatoid arthritis, gout, diabetes, thyroid diseases etc. also are susceptible to tendon injuries.

When a tendon is inflamed or irritated the condition is referred to as Tendinitis. Tendons are thick rope like fibers which connect muscles to bones. Tendinitis aggravates into Tendinosis. Tendinosis occurs due to the wear and tear of tendons which do not heal. Most commonly found in middle aged people and elders, Tendinosis can develop at any age in relation to an injury of the tendons. If your hips ache as you climb stairs or as you rise from a chair then you probably have Bursitis or Tendinosis. It has symptoms similar to those of Bursitis. Tendinosis patients suffer from severe pain as they move their affected joints. Some may also have a lump formed in the area.

1. If you have Bursitis or Tendinosis the best thing to do is to stop the physical activity for a while until you get better.
2. Give adequate rest to yourself and change your way of doing the activity. It is also important to remember that the condition might still be there even if the pain has subsided. So healing time is important.
3. If you start the activity again, do it slowly and for shorter periods. You can try increasing the duration gradually if it does not pain anymore.
4. Ice packs for 10-15 minutes usually make you feel better.
5. Applying heat for 15-20 minutes will relieve you of pain.
6. Find out an exercise that suits the condition best, that is the exercise should not give you any pain at the same time it should serve to strengthen the muscles around the joint. For elbow or shoulder injury swinging exercise or pendulum exercise works well.
7. Physical therapy may help.
8. Take anti-inflammatory pills.
9. Avoid pressure on your joints by taking necessary precautions. Ex: Use a cushion as you kneel down.
10. Remember to warm up before exercise.

Now you know why you need to warm up and stretch before beginning an exercise.

-Aparna K V

Tags: herbal, alternative medicine, native remedies, therapeutic, aryuvedic

Old age is perhaps the most testing time in one’s life when the health is most uncertain. Apart from general weakness and tiredness, there are several chronic diseases like high blood pressure, alzheimers disease and benign prostate hypertrophy (in men). Just in line with these diseases is another devil again chronic in nature…arthritis. Arthritis can be in the form of osteo arthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.

“Osteoarthritis” is derived from the Greek word “osteo“, meaning “of the bone”, “arthro“, meaning “joint”, and “itis“, meaning inflammation, although many sufferers have little or no inflammation. A common misconception is that OA is due solely to wear and tear, due to the fact that OA typically is not present in younger people. However, while age is correlated with OA incidence, this merely illustrates that OA is a process that takes time to develop. There is usually an underlying cause for OA, in which case it is described as secondary OA. If no underlying cause can be identified it is described as primary OA. “Degenerative arthritis”, often used as a synonym for OA, but the latter involves both degenerative and regenerative changes.

OA affects nearly 21 million people in the United States, accounting for 25% of visits to primary care physicians, and half of all NSAID (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) prescriptions. It is estimated that 80% of the population will have radiographic evidence of OA by age 65, although only 60% of those will be symptomatic.

What causes osteoarthritis? . Researchers are also investigating the possibility of allergies, infections, or fungi as a cause. There is some evidence that allergies, whether fungal, infectious or systemically induced, may be a significant contributing factor to the appearance of osteoarthritis in a synovial sac

Primary osteoarthritis is mostly related to aging. With aging, the water content of the cartilage increases and the protein makeup of cartilage degenerates. Repetitive use of the joints over the years irritates and inflames the cartilage, causing joint pain and swelling. Eventually, cartilage begins to degenerate by flaking or forming tiny crevasses. In advanced cases, there is a total loss of the cartilage cushion between the bones of the joints. Loss of cartilage cushion causes friction between the bones, leading to pain and limitation of joint mobility. Inflammation of the cartilage can also stimulate new bone outgrowths (spurs) to form around the joints. Osteoarthritis occasionally can be found in multiple members of the same family, implying a heredity (genetic) basis for this condition.

What happens in osteo arthritis?

Cartilage covers the abnormal wearing of the cartilage that covers and acts as a cushion inside joints and destruction or decrease of synovial fluid that lubricates those joints. As the bone surfaces become less well protected by cartilage, the patient experiences pain upon weight bearing, including walking and standing. Due to decreased movement because of the pain, regional muscles may atrophy, and