Getting Knee Pain Care in Kenya with Col (Dr) Adari
The knee joint is the largest joint in your body. The knee is comprised of many intricate parts including cartilage, bone, tendons, ligaments, and fluid.
The injury or irritation of even one can lead to relentless pain and even limit physical activity. Knee pain is a common complaint that affects people of all ages.
At Orthobridge Orthopedic Institute, an orthopedic center in Kenya, we begin by diagnosing the root cause of your knee pain and provide non-surgical knee pain treatments in Nairobi, Kenya.
We offer patients personalized physical therapy treatments for knee pain in combination with other therapies, including joint mobilization, electromyography, joint fluid replacement, strengthening, exercises, electrical stimulation, ultrasound therapy, and PRP therapy.
Do not hesitate to contact us. Not only can we help relieve your knee pain, but we can help you avoid unnecessary knee surgeries.
What are the symptoms of knee pain?
The location and severity of knee pain may vary, depending on the cause of the problem. Signs and symptoms that sometimes accompany knee pain include:
- Swelling and stiffness
- Redness and warmth to the touch
- Weakness or instability
- Popping or crunching noises
- Inability to fully straighten the knee
What causes knee pain?
Knee pain can be caused by injuries, mechanical problems, types of arthritis, and other problems.
Osgood-Schlatter disease: This condition happens when you’re young when bones and other parts of the knee are still changing.
Patellofemoral pain syndrome: Muscle imbalance, tightness, and alignment problems of the legs usually cause this condition. It causes knee pain and occasional “buckling,” meaning your knee suddenly can’t bear your weight. It’s not due to an injury.
Meniscal tear: Sometimes, a knee injury can cause the cartilage to rip.
These rough edges can get stuck in the joint, which causes pain and swelling. Many times, people will have the sensation of “catching” in the joint when they are active.
Iliotibial band syndrome: This occurs when the tough band of tissue that extends from the outside of your hip to the outside of your knee (iliotibial band) becomes so tight that it rubs against the outer portion of your femur. Distance runners are especially susceptible to iliotibial band syndrome.
More cause of knee pain
Knee Bursitis: Bursitis of the knee occurs when there is inflammation of the bursa, or fluid sac that cushions the different parts of the knee. Common causes of the knee bursitis include sports injuries, trauma, infection, or conditions such as arthritis.
ACL injury: An ACL injury is the tearing of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) — one of four ligaments that connect your shinbone to your thigh bone. An ACL injury is particularly common in people who play basketball, soccer, or other sports that require sudden changes in direction.
Dislocated kneecap: This occurs when the triangular bone (patella) that covers the front of your knee slips out of place, usually to the outside of your knee.
The kneecap may stay displaced and you’ll be able to see the dislocation. Your doctor may call this “patellar dislocation.”
Hip or foot pain: If you have hip or foot pain, you may change the way you walk to spare these painful joints. But this altered gait can place more stress on your knee joint.
In some cases, problems in the hip or foot can refer pain to the knee
Loose body: Sometimes injury or degeneration of bone or cartilage can cause a piece of bone or cartilage to break off and float in the joint space.
This may not create any problems unless the loose body interferes with knee joint movement.
Knee arthritis: Osteoarthritis is the most common form of knee arthritis. It involves the progressing degeneration of cartilage in the knee.
Common symptoms of knee arthritis include pain, stiffness, weakness, and loss of physical activity.
Factors that increase your risk of having knee problems
- Excess weight: Being overweight or obese increases stress on your knee joints, even during ordinary activities such as walking or going up and downstairs. It also puts you at increased risk of osteoarthritis by accelerating the breakdown of joint cartilage.
- Lack of muscle flexibility or strength: A lack of strength and flexibility are among the leading causes of knee injuries. Tight or weak muscles offer less support for your knee because they don’t absorb enough of the stress exerted on the joint.
Certain sports: Some sports put greater stress on your knees than others do. Alpine skiing with its rigid ski boots and potential for falls, basketball jumps, and pivots, and the repeated pounding your knees take when you run or jog all increase your risk of a knee injury.
Previous injury: Having a previous knee injury makes it more likely that you’ll injure your knee again.
Diagnosing Knee Pain
Knee Pain Care & Treatment in Kenya
The treatment of knee pain varies depending on the case of the pain.
Medication is mostly prescribed to assist in relieving the pain and in some cases, to treat the underlying condition such as gout or rheumatoid arthritis.
Therapy that involves the strengthening of the muscles around the knee will assist in stabilizing the joint. The involved training focuses on the front thigh muscles and the back thigh muscles because they are connected to the knee and provide the needed support.
Injections can be used in the treatment and this will include supplemental lubrication which is a thick fluid injected into the knee joint to enhance mobility and alleviated the pain.
Corticosteroid injections into the knee will help in reducing the intensity of the symptoms but might not be effective in all cases.
There are knee pain cases that might require surgery but it is always important to weigh the pros and cons of the surgical procedure.
Some of the procedures that might be recommended include arthroscopic surgery, partial knee replacement surgery, and total knee replacement where the damaged parts of the joint are removed and replaced with an artificial joint.
How can you relieve knee pain?
Although it’s not always possible to prevent knee pain, the following suggestions may help forestall injuries and joint deterioration:
- Maintain a healthy weight; it’s one of the best things you can do for your knees.
Every extra pound puts additional strain on your joints, increasing the risk of injuries and osteoarthritis. - Be in shape to play your sport; To prepare your muscles for the demands of sports participation, take time for conditioning. Work with a coach or trainer to ensure that your technique and movement are the best they can be.
- Practice perfectly; Make sure the technique and movement patterns you use in your sports or activity are the best they can be. Lessons from a professional can be very helpful.
- Get strong, stay flexible; Because weak muscles are a leading cause of knee injuries, you’ll benefit from building up your quadriceps and hamstrings, which support your knees. Balance and stability training helps the muscles around your knees work together more effectively. And because tight muscles also can contribute to injury, stretching is important. Try to include flexibility exercises in your workouts.
- Be smart about exercise, If you have osteoarthritis, chronic knee pain, or recurring injuries, you may need to change the way you exercise. Consider switching to swimming, water aerobics, or other low-impact activities — at least for a few days a week. Sometimes simply limiting high-impact activities will provide relief.
Hear from some of our patients
Use of platelet-rich plasma to treat a knee condition with Orthopedic Surgeon in Nairobi, Kenya Col(Dr) Adari George, Founding Director of Orthobridge Institute, an orthopedic centre in Kenya.
