Many people suffer from knee pain problems and most people chose to ignore it by living through the discomfort. Without a doubt, severe knee pain diagnosis should be given from a doctor or healthcare professional. However, most people suffer from minor to moderate knee pain problems that can be relieved by educating oneself.
If you’re wondering how to diagnose knee pain, then our knee pain diagnosis guide is the perfect place to start. Listed below are top 10 symptoms of knee pain which should cover nearly all causes of knee pain.
Contents:
Knee Noises & Sounds
Quite possibly the sound you are hearing in your knees may be crepitus which is the medical term for the popping or grinding sound. It is created when two rough objects or surfaces in the human body come together.
It may be a sign that the cartilage in your knee is breaking down (cartilage tear) exposing some of the bone which allows the two sides of the knee joint to rub together. Crepitus can be an early sign of developing osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis or bone fracture.
Read more on:
Knee Locks
When the knee locks up it can often be related to issues with the gliding of the knee cap (patella) over the surface of the leg bones. Usually this is associated with runners, and caused by overuse, strain, and an imbalance in the muscle groups of the leg. If the pain persists seek medical attention. Click here to read more on runner’s knee.
Learn more about:
Knee Gives Way
Giving way or instability might be one of five top issues causing you to diagnose your knee pain. A tear of your cartilage rings, tear of your cruciate ligaments, tear of your collateral ligaments, kneecap problems or the hooking of the uneven surfaces of your joint from arthritis.
Click here to see a diagram of your knee which will better help you understand the source of your knee pain.
Knee Pain from Waking Up
Welcome to old age. Pain or stiffness in the knee when you first wake upstairs that usually subsides throughout the day is most liking Osteoarthritis. OA is a form of arthritis that is most common in people over 50. It can also be felt in those who overuse their knees from working out or running excessively.
Find more help on:
Knee Pain from Sitting
The longer you sit the more pain in the knee. Knee pain after sitting can be caused by damage to the joint, as from Rheumatoid arthritis and Osteoarthritis. Various injuries can also cause knee pain. Including and not limited to tears or rupture of cartilage, tendons, ligaments. Tumors can also cause knee pain so don’t just rely on your personal knee pain diagnosis. Call your doctor if you aren’t sure.
More info on:
Knee Pain from Kneeling
The official medical name for knee pain while kneeling down is prepatellar bursitis (also known as beat knee, carpet layer’s knee, coal miner’s knee, or housemaid’s knee). It is a condition that results from the bursa (a fluid-filled sac or saclike cavity) overlying the knee cap which becomes tender and inflamed.
In addition to kneeling on the floor pain, discomfort might be felt when walking or going up and down stairs. Click here to read more about the knee bursitis.
More help can be found on:
Knee Pain from Walking Down Stairs
Knee cap or Patella is usually the culprit for dealing with pain while going down the stairs. Your knee pain diagnosis might lead you to runner’s knee, Chondromalacia Patella (pain in the front or inner part of the knee) or Osteoarthritis (arthritis). Please take a look at the links above and below to read more on these conditions.
More diagnosis & relief on:
- Chondromalacia patella (runner’s knee)
- Arthritis pain in knees
- Inner knee pain
- Anterior knee pain
- Knee pain when walking
Knee Pain from Running
Knee pain from running (aka Runner’s Knee) is common among – you guessed it – runners. Runner’s knee is a loose term which refers to one or more of the five conditions of pain in running. Those conditions are overuse, direct trauma to the knee, misalignment, feet problems and weak thigh muscles. Make sure you read the knee pain running tips for more help in this section.
More info & help on:
- Knee pain after running
- Knee pain while running
- Jumper’s knee
- Pain relief for runner’s knee
- Osgood Schlatters disease (overuse injury)
Knee Swelling
Determining the cause of swelling from your knee pain diagnosis can be extremely tough. Virtually every knee condition can cause some sort of swelling of the knee. However, if you have an injury or trauma to the knee, it is most commonly due to blood within the joint. The most common injury is found in athletes from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear.
More can be found in:
Knee Pain from Bony Lump in the Front of the Knee
Usually two conditions are culprits of bony lumps in the front of the knee. The patella tendon is pulling more on one part of the knee cap and irritating it enough to produce some extra bone. The other is Osgood Schlatters, which is a condition in adolescence when the cartilage becomes true bone, and the knee cap does not join up properly causing a bumpy knee.
More info on:
[Extra] Pain in Back of Knee
Pain behind knees can have many causes. Baker’s Cyst, or various tears and injuries can cause back knee pain. One of the most frequent causes of pain behind knee is the popliteus muscle. This muscle is located at the back of your knee joint and can hurt due to overuse or injury.
More info on:
Where to learn more about knee pain diagnosis?
There are many more helpful articles with various knee conditions and injuries on our website. Feel free to use our search feature for less frequent conditions in case you can’t diagnose knee pain via any of the symptoms outlined above.
For knee pain relief we absolutely recommend trying RICE method first. We also have a wonderful list of 7 simple knee exercises for pain relief which anyone can do. Lots of additional tips and info can be found in our main Knee Relief and Knee Exercises categories.
If all else fails and you still don’t know how to diagnose knee pain, you should absolutely contact a healthcare professional to help you.
What did you learn from your knee pain diagnosis? Please comment below.
