How is a knee injury treated? How long does it take to recover?
Knee injuries can account for about 25% of all sports injuries and are the most prevalent site for sports injuries. This is due to the fact that the knee joint is an important bone joint in the lower extremities of the human body. In addition to its role as a weight-bearing joint, the lower extremity activities and steering changes require the synergy of the knee joint, which leads to a steep increase in the risk of injury.
As the largest and most complex joint in the body, the knee joint consists of the lower femur, upper tibia and patella. The upper tibia is essentially a flat surface, while the lower femur is an oval-shaped surface. The two surfaces are round and flat and do not fit together perfectly, so the meniscus is needed to help the surfaces fit together.
Also, because the joint fossa that makes up the knee is relatively shallow, it relies on a large amount of surrounding soft tissue to maintain joint stability, so the likelihood of soft tissue injury is higher. Below I will tell you about a few common knee sports injuries.
Meniscus Injuries
Meniscal injuries are the most common of all knee sports injuries.
The main symptoms
In the acute phase, there is significant pain, swelling and fluid accumulation in the knee joint, and impaired joint flexion and extension. After the acute phase, the swelling and effusion can subside on their own, but the joint still has pain when moving, especially when going up and down stairs, going up and down slopes, squatting and standing, running and jumping, etc. In severe cases, there is limp or flexion and extension dysfunction, and some patients have the phenomenon of “interlocking” or popping when flexing and extending the knee.
Treatment
Conservative treatment].
Elderly people with degenerative meniscus injury can be treated conservatively if the symptoms are not obvious.
Use anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs
Rehabilitation exercises to enhance muscle strength and increase joint stability
【Surgical treatment】.
Most other meniscus injuries require surgical treatment. Surgical treatment is mainly arthroscopic meniscal suturing, trimming, partial resection or total resection
Cruciate ligament injury
Improper treatment of cruciate ligament injury can lead to damage to articular cartilage, meniscus and other structures on top of knee instability, leading to knee degeneration and early onset of osteoarthrosis, thus aggravating knee damage and seriously affecting knee function.
Anterior cruciate ligament injury
Most often seen in sports where there is a lot of twisting, half flexion, sharp stops and collisions. For example: soccer, skiing, basketball, etc.
【Main symptoms】.
Knee joint swelling, pain, instability as the main manifestation. After ACL injury, some patients do not appear or only very mild pain, so often do not pay attention to delay the disease.
【Treatment】.
ACL injuries generally require surgical treatment, namely arthroscopic cruciate ligament reconstruction.
Posterior cruciate ligament injury
Knee joint in hyperextension and flexion position caused by the backward force on the lower leg.
【Main symptoms】.
Knee pain, swelling, and limited movement. Patients in the chronic stage mostly have knee instability, weak legs, a sense of knee motion and instability when walking or jogging, and are unable to participate in strenuous sports, and some still have knee pain.
【Treatment】.
First degree injury can be treated conservatively;
Second-degree injuries are treated according to the patient’s condition. If the patient is an athlete or sports enthusiast, surgery is required; if the daily exercise is less, conservative treatment is available;
Third-degree injury requires surgery.
Knee fractures
Knee fractures include femoral condyle fractures, tibial plateau fractures, and intercondylar spine fractures, all of which are intra-articular fractures.
[Main symptoms].
Joint swelling, pain, and limitation of movement.
Treatment】.
Non-displaced fractures are mostly treated non-operatively with brace or cast fixation. Displaced fractures should be treated surgically.
Pin tendon rupture
The cause of the injury is indirect violence and direct violence, indirect violence is mainly the strong contraction of the quadriceps muscle, common in high jump, gymnastics and basketball. Direct violence is the direct force or knife cut on the knee tendon.
【Main symptoms】.
Injury local swelling, pain, weakness of knee extension, etc.
【Treatment】.
Surgical treatment is required.
Quadriceps tendon rupture
Quadriceps tendon rupture can be caused by direct and indirect violence. Indirect violence is a violent contraction of the quadriceps muscle in knee flexion, causing rupture.
【Clinical manifestations】.
The injury site is swollen and painful, and active knee extension is limited.
Treatment】.
Surgical treatment is required.
Lateral collateral ligament injury
Commonly seen in knee joint sprains, contusions, direct violent impact, local sharp object cuts, etc., compared to the injury of the medial collateral ligament is rare.
【Main symptoms】.
Pain and pressure pain at the injury site.
【Treatment】.
The injury is mild, the joint is stable can take conservative treatment. If the joint is unstable or complicated by common peroneal nerve injury, surgery is required.
Medial collateral ligament injury
Sudden abduction and external rotation of the lower leg at about 45° of knee flexion, or fixation of the foot and lower leg, and sudden adduction and internal rotation of the thigh can cause injury to the medial collateral ligament. Commonly seen in soccer and wrestling sports, followed by skiing, skating, high jump, basketball.
【Main symptoms】.
Incomplete injury shows sudden medial knee pain, but the pain can be immediately reduced and disappeared again, and can continue to participate in sports. After a complete rupture, the pain is localized to severe pain, the pain is then reduced, but then the pain is aggravated again, and there is reflex spasm of the semitendinosus, semimembranosus and biceps femoris, and the knee is in a semi-flexed position to refuse any movement.
[Treatment].
Most medial collateral ligament injuries can be treated conservatively, i.e., compression bandaging, cold compresses, and fixed braking of the knee joint. If the athlete is competing, the affected area does not continue to bleed indications, you can continue to compete under local closure, support band fixation. For athletes or sports enthusiasts, complete rupture of the medial collateral ligament may require surgical treatment.
Patellar dislocation
Patellar dislocation is mainly due to traumatic factors, such as violent sprains and violent injuries. It can also be seen in congenital factors.
【Main symptoms】.
Acute traumatic dislocation will show symptoms such as pain, swelling and restricted movement; habitual patellar dislocation shows quadriceps atrophy, weakness in knee extension and easy to fall, but no obvious pain.
【Treatment】.
For acute traumatic dislocation, if there is no cartilage or ligament damage, it can be treated conservatively. If intra-articular free body formation is diagnosed, arthroscopic surgery is recommended to remove the free body and repair the medial collateral ligament of the patella at the same time. Surgery should also be performed for recurrent patellar dislocation, as conservative treatment cannot repair the medial patellar support structures.
Prevention and low profile are the best doctors
Knee injuries do often plague us in sports and it is of utmost importance for sports enthusiasts to carry out prevention. Then we should do the following (these are, of course, clichéd points).
Warm-up exercises can not be missing. Warm-up exercises can help raise body temperature, increase blood circulation in the deep muscles, enhance joint flexibility, to a large extent, can reduce the chance of knee injuries (and of course all sports injuries). It is recommended that 15-20 minutes of warm-up exercise before exercise, the content should include jogging, ligament stretching, muscle stretching, etc., in the case of low outside temperature warm-up exercise is best carried out to 30 minutes.
The exercise environment should be picked well. A safe environment is very important to prevent injuries. For soccer, basketball and other high-risk sports, wet venues should be avoided after the rain, slippery feet for the knee when turning force is very dangerous (today’s professional soccer always likes to sprinkle water on the field before the game, which is a lot of players. Besides, we don’t have non-slip spikes like the pros do). .
Don’t forget to tidy up the sport. This is often overlooked by many sports fans. After the sports finishing and relaxation activities can let the body temperature, heart rate and other recovery to normal levels, effectively reduce the fatigue and soreness of muscles and joints after exercise, but also to play a role in preventing injuries. Of course, if there are conditions for some physical means of recovery (electrotherapy, hydrotherapy, heat therapy, etc.) is also a good choice.
The key areas to focus on prevention. For the body, protection is naturally necessary. For sports, protection is divided into two kinds: their own protection and external protection. The so-called own protection, that is, we need to train the key parts of the stronger to protect their own bodies, then in the knee, we strengthen some quadriceps exercise, improve the strength of the muscles around the knee, to prevent knee injuries is naturally beneficial. And in the meantime, using some protective gear to protect would be a good way to go.
It’s better to keep a low profile. For the prevention of injuries, we have one last, and also the most practical one, is that when the sport must have a clear understanding of their own ability, for their ability to reach the action do not easily try, otherwise in order to play handsome to get hurt themselves absolutely not worth the loss.
Can remember the above points, I believe we can enjoy the fun of sports together without fear. Protect yourself in order to make our knees “hurt not up”.