It\u2019s only a misconception that knee pain is always an older person\u2019s problem. You\u2019d be surprised how many young adults we treat now at our Orthopedic clinic in Mumbai.<\/p>\n
\u201cNaturally, injury-related knee pain is common. But setting those aside, the knee pain cases we treat are caused by a myriad of factors, which range from muscle imbalances and overuse, poor posture and footwear, to early cartilage wear and arthritis,\u201d says Orthopedic specialist and joint replacement surgeon Dr Chirag Patel.<\/a><\/p>\n While the young are easy to treat, it’s tricky because most young people ignore the pain and assume it will subside over time. Sometimes it does, but not always. At our clinic, we have seen many cases that result from a minor strain or injury that, when ignored, worsens symptoms and requires more intensive treatment than it would have needed early on.<\/p>\n \u201cIn certain cases, knee pain in the young can become a serious affair that affects their mobility, sport and daily life for years. The mistake happens due to a lack of awareness that knee pain at a young age isn\u2019t always harmless,\u201d says Dr Chirag Patel.<\/p>\n So we asked him what causes knee pain in young people and when to take it seriously. With input from Orthopedic specialist Dr Chirag Patel, we have put together the causes you should know. Read on.<\/p>\n 1. Meniscus tear: \u201cAnd it doesn\u2019t need a big injury for the tear to occur. Something as simple as getting up from a deep squat or twisting while the foot stays planted can be enough,\u201d says Dr. Chirag Patel.<\/p>\n The tear can cause the knee to swell or sometimes lock, and it can even hurt on the inside when you turn. This pain settles after a week, and most people ignore it. But in reality, the torn meniscus can keep tearing, and as the cushion wears away, early arthritis can set in even in young patients. \u201cThere have been severe cases where we have had to perform keyhole meniscus surgery\u201d, says Dr Patel<\/p>\n 2. A swollen knee with other symptoms:<\/strong><\/p>\n Some knee pain will arise without any sport or injury at all and a bit of swelling can be very easy to overlook. The key thing is what goes with the swelling and pain. If you experience fever, warmth and redness in addition to the swelling and pain then you may even have a joint infection and need to go to hospital urgently. Otherwise, cartilage can be destroyed in just a matter of days.<\/p>\n If you have pain in more than one joint and the stiffness in the morning lasts for more than 30 minutes then that may be a sign of inflammatory arthritis (it can affect young people as well). A knee that swells a few weeks after a case of diarrhoea or a urinary tract infection may be a case of reactive arthritis.<\/p>\n 3. Osgood-Schlatter disease:<\/strong><\/p>\n Some knee problems look far worse than they are, and Osgood-Schlatter disease is one of them. A hard, tender lump just below the kneecap of an active child or teenager will alarm most parents. It is usually Osgood-Schlatter disease, where the kneecap tendon pulls on the growing shin bone during a growth spurt, and the knee hurts after running, jumping, or kneeling. With rest from those activities, ice, and stretching, it usually settles once growth finishes. \u201cOver time, the pain goes away, but the bump may stay. This condition is harmless, so there\u2019s no need to worry much about it,\u201d says knee pain doctor in Mumbai Dr Chirag Patel.<\/p>\n 4. Kneecap dislocation: 5. Hip problems and night pain:<\/strong><\/p>\n Age changes what knee pain can mean. In a teenager, particularly one who is overweight, knee or thigh pain with a limp can come from the hip, where the top of the thigh bone slips at its growth plate. This condition, called slipped capital femoral epiphysis, is easy to miss when only the knee is examined. This is where an Orthopedic specialist who treats both the hip and the knee, like Dr Chirag Patel, makes a difference.<\/p>\n 6. Runner\u2019s knee:<\/strong><\/p>\n Any discussion of knee pain in young people that doesn’t at least mention runner’s knee is a bit of a missed opportunity. It’s an ache around or behind the kneecap which will often flare up on the stairs, during a squat or after you’ve been sitting through a long film. Dr Chirag Patel who sees a fair number of cases of runner’s knee at his clinic says “the most common cause of knee pain in young people is runner’s knee, an ache around or behind the kneecap which flares on the stairs, during a squat or after you’ve been sitting through a long film. It’s usually due to weak hips, flat feet, a sudden increase in training load or just plain old worn-out shoes. The good news is it usually resolves with appropriate physiotherapy and a gradual return to activity.”<\/p>\n Not just the above, but other common causes of knee pain in young people are activity-related knee pain cases, which often are caused by:<\/p>\n \u2022 Running, especially when the distance is ramped up too quickly.<\/p>\n \u2022 Jumping sports like volleyball and basketball usually strain the tendon just below the kneecap and cause jumper’s knee \u2013 another common cause of knee pain in the young.<\/p>\n \u2022 Heavy squats and lunges with the knees collapsing inwards overload the joint behind the kneecap and are another common cause.<\/p>\n \u2022 Twisting sports like football, cricket and badminton cause ACL tears – usually with a pop and swelling within hours, along with meniscus tears.<\/p>\n The most important thing about knee pain in the young is that there are too many causes, some of which can be treated with conservative measures while others may require medication and, in rare cases, surgery, and can only be identified and adequately treated by an Orthopedic specialist.<\/p>\n Given that most activity-related causes of right knee pain differ for the young person, some Orthopedic specialists focus on sports injuries and treatment, but also on joint replacement surgery for severe cases. Dr Chirag Patel is one of the few surgeons who ticks all the boxes. At our Joint and Sports Clinic in Mumbai,<\/a> we often see young patients on both ends of the spectrum.<\/p>\n \u2022 Patients come in assuming that they have torn something, and it turns out to be runner\u2019s knee that settles with a few weeks of physiotherapy.<\/p>\n \u2022 Teenagers who previously got treated for \u201cknee pain\u201d for months turns out to have a hip problem.<\/p>\n \u2022 Others arrive after months of playing on a knee that kept locking or giving way, by which time a tear that could once have been repaired has grown, and the surgery needed ends up bigger than it needed to be.<\/p>\n This is exactly why knee pain in a young person should be examined and diagnosed by a specialist Orthopedic surgeon who treats young people and sports injuries, and only then treated. Dr Chirag Patel is a hip and knee surgeon trained in both arthroscopy and joint replacement, so he knows how today\u2019s injury shapes the knee years later. If you are suffering from sudden-onset knee pain, please do contact Dr. Chirag Patel<\/a> at his Joints & Sports Clinic in Mumbai.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s only a misconception that knee pain is always an older person\u2019s problem. You\u2019d be surprised how many young adults…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2113,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\nKnee pain in young adults: Treatable but tricky?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nThe most common cause of knee pain in young adults is a meniscus tear, in which the C-shaped cartilage cushion between the thigh and shin bones, called, meniscus gets torn.<\/p>\n
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\nAnother common cause (particularly in teens, young women and people with naturally loose joints) is a kneecap that’s going to slip out of its groove. It most commonly occurs when you’re doing a sudden turn and the kneecap will often just pop back in again so people tend to ignore it. However, each time it slips it can chip the cartilage underneath and make the next slip more likely. A specialist will be able to determine whether strengthening exercises will be sufficient to keep it in place or whether the ligament that holds it in place will need to be repaired.<\/p>\nDr Chirag Patel – Top Orthopedic Specialist in Mumbai<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nConsult Dr Chirag Patel, Knee Specialist in Mumbai<\/p>\n