| Some of the symptoms of common knee injuries are | | | | or Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury. ACL knee |
| swelling, soreness and stiffness. I'm sure most of us | | | | injury is more common. Out of interest, this is the |
| have experienced one or more of these symptoms. | | | | common injury we hear a lot about in dogs. |
| Knee injury diagnosis should be left to the | | | | Symptom: The knee changes in shape. |
| professionals. If you suffer from any sort of knee | | | | Cause: Possible fracture inside the knee or torn |
| pain do not try to diagnose it yourself but see your | | | | ligaments. |
| doctor. | | | | Symptom: Swelling of the knee, pain in the knee |
| Why are our knees so prone to injury especially to | | | | joint, the knee is unstable when weight is put on it |
| knee ligament injuries? | | | | and reduced mobility. |
| Knees are prone to injury for several reasons: they | | | | Cause: Hyperextension of the knee joint. A common |
| are extremely complicated being made up of | | | | injury in many sports that involve jumping and turning |
| tendons, cartilage, bone and ligaments, they take a | | | | where the knee joint is forced to extend past it's |
| lot pounding by our body and by what we do. They | | | | usual straightened position. This can occur due to |
| are load bearing and are subject to damage from | | | | heavy bodily contact or simply by landing awkwardly. |
| falls and knocks. | | | | Symptom: Long term pain, stiffness and swelling of |
| Some of the symptoms and causes of the more | | | | the knee joint. These symptoms are often worse in |
| common knee injuries are listed below. | | | | the colder months. |
| Symptom: The knee is swollen, sore to touch and | | | | Cause: Possible osteoarthritis. |
| painful when moved. | | | | Symptom: Swelling at the back of the knee. |
| Cause: Possible torn cartilage or torn ligaments or the | | | | Cause: Possible Bakers Cyst. |
| ligament or cartilage under the knee cap has | | | | Symptom: Soreness and swelling and the kneecap is |
| softened. | | | | painful to touch and you are aged somewhere |
| Symptom: Acute pain at the back of the knee and it | | | | between 12 and 18 years. |
| hurts to stretch your leg. | | | | Cause: Possible Osgood-Schlatter Disease. Many males |
| Cause: Possible torn hamstring. | | | | are affected by this when they have growth spurts |
| Symptom: The knee is sore all the time, the knee | | | | in their teenage years. |
| joint is hard to move and the knee is unstable when | | | | Symptom: Acute pain between the shinbone and the |
| weight is put on it. | | | | kneecap when participating in strenuous activities like |
| Cause: Possible torn meniscus. The meniscus is the | | | | running or jumping with the pain persisting after the |
| cushioning cartilage at the ends of the bones in the | | | | activity. |
| knee joint. | | | | Cause: Possible Tendinitis, an injury to the tendon |
| Symptom: A dull ache in the knee accompanied by | | | | that joins the kneecap to the shinbone and usually |
| swelling. | | | | caused by excessive strenuous activities. |
| Cause: Possible damage to the articular cartilage. | | | | Symptom: Pain in the knee and a grinding feeling |
| Sometimes this is caused by a bodily injury or plain | | | | when the knee joint is moved. The knee sometimes |
| old wear and tear. | | | | locks up. |
| Symptom: Instability of the knee which may tend to | | | | Cause: Possible torn cartilage. |
| give way when weight is placed on it, the knee | | | | Although these are quite common knee injuries, it |
| makes a "popping" sound, swelling of the knee and | | | | does not mean they should be ignored. If you suffer |
| soreness when standing that may actually prevent | | | | from any of these symptoms then I recommend |
| you from doing so. | | | | you consult your medical practitioner to get |
| Cause: Possible anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury | | | | treatment for knee pain. |