3 Causes Of Knee Pain: Hyperextension, Excess Load & Fracture

Holding up our weight are a few key joints. Of course every joint is doing it’s part but chief among them are the ankles, knees and hips. The ankles are one of the strongest joints in the body and since their range of movement is limited, they tend not to get as injured as others. Our hips have large muscles to protect them, such as the hamstring, glutes and quads, not to mention the lumbar spine muscles. It’s the knee that is sorely lacking in that level of protection. The muscles are a little too far away from it. The calves and the quads don’t come to its aid when it over flexes. So it’s little wonder that so many things can cause knee pain.

Over-rotation or hyperflexion

This occurs very suddenly and usually without warning. Your knee is designed to bend under force. This protects your joints, your spine and you from injury. If you slip on something your knee will bend while your muscles tighten. This is all in a bid to lessen the impact of falling. However, when your knee doesn’t bend and instead stays locked, the force can sometimes cause an over-rotation. This is when the knee hyperextends, or essentially, bends backwards. It can damage ligaments and tendons, bruise muscle attachments and hurt your spine. You can solve this issue by reducing your gate as you walk. When your feet are too far in front of you it can prevent the knees from bending naturally.

Excess weight

You might not notice it as you walk around, but if you try to go for a jog your weight will suddenly become apparent to your knees. The knees are not designed to be overloaded regularly. Putting stress on any joint is bad, but because we are on our feet a lot of the day, things like going up and downstairs while asking our knees to carry our weight will accelerate our own demise. The knee has cartilage supporting it and helping it to stay in place, the additional weight will break down the cartilage quicker and cause an early onset of arthritis.

Knee fracture

If you suffer a blunt force impact and fracture your knee you may need to speak to someone like orthocentralcoast.com.au. They do knee repair and knee replacement surgeries and have dealt with countless knee injuries that involve fractures. You need your body to heal properly from a fracture otherwise you can have bone misalignments. A knee fracture can cause marrow leakage, the joint to set at a bad angle and put unnecessary stress on the cartilage. If you sense a knee fracture, you should look for the following signs.

• The knee is swollen but the tissue is not necessarily inflamed.
• You sense or can feel fluid building up inside the knee.
• It hurts to put weight on the knee
• You have trouble moving your foot up and down.

Knee pain is one of the most debilitating things to go through. Just walking feels like a challenge too far. If you have any of these pain issues, speak with a professional.

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