“Knee pain?”
Last week for two days straight I ran about three miles. I haven’t run in a long time and this was my first time doing so. The next day I woke up and had severe knee pain for a week. I have trouble walking and going up and down stairs. It hurts to even lay down. It feels like there is a sharp pain going through my knee caps and it even hurts more to even ice them at times. It is so incredibly painful I don’t know what to do?
Female | 50 years old
Complaint duration: One week
Medications: Topical for skin
Conditions: N/a
10 Answers
I'm sorry to hear about the severe knee pain you're experiencing. Given your recent increase in activity after a long break from running, a stress fracture could be a potential cause of your pain, especially if you're feeling sharp pain around your kneecap. Other possibilities include tendinitis, bursitis, or patellofemoral pain syndrome.
Here are some steps you can take to help manage your pain and facilitate recovery:
Rest: Avoid activities that worsen your pain, especially running or any high-impact exercises. Giving your knees a break is crucial.
Ice: Although you mentioned that icing can sometimes be painful, it can still be beneficial for reducing swelling and inflammation. Try applying ice for 15-20 minutes every few hours, but if it causes too much pain, listen to your body and take a break from icing.
Compression: Using a knee brace or compression wrap can provide support and help reduce swelling.
Elevation: When resting, try to keep your knee elevated above heart level to minimize swelling.
Gentle Stretching and Strengthening: Once the acute pain subsides, gentle stretching and strengthening exercises can help restore mobility and strength to the knee. Focus on strengthening the muscles around the knee, like the quadriceps and hamstrings, but only do this once you're comfortable and have consulted with a healthcare professional.
Consult a Professional: Since your pain has been severe and persistent, it’s essential to see a healthcare professional, such as a chiropractor, physical therapist, or orthopedic specialist. They can assess your knee, rule out a stress fracture or other injuries, and recommend a tailored treatment plan, which may include physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, or other interventions.
If your symptoms worsen or if you experience swelling, warmth, or fever, seek medical attention promptly. It's important to address these issues early to prevent any long-term damage.
Here are some steps you can take to help manage your pain and facilitate recovery:
Rest: Avoid activities that worsen your pain, especially running or any high-impact exercises. Giving your knees a break is crucial.
Ice: Although you mentioned that icing can sometimes be painful, it can still be beneficial for reducing swelling and inflammation. Try applying ice for 15-20 minutes every few hours, but if it causes too much pain, listen to your body and take a break from icing.
Compression: Using a knee brace or compression wrap can provide support and help reduce swelling.
Elevation: When resting, try to keep your knee elevated above heart level to minimize swelling.
Gentle Stretching and Strengthening: Once the acute pain subsides, gentle stretching and strengthening exercises can help restore mobility and strength to the knee. Focus on strengthening the muscles around the knee, like the quadriceps and hamstrings, but only do this once you're comfortable and have consulted with a healthcare professional.
Consult a Professional: Since your pain has been severe and persistent, it’s essential to see a healthcare professional, such as a chiropractor, physical therapist, or orthopedic specialist. They can assess your knee, rule out a stress fracture or other injuries, and recommend a tailored treatment plan, which may include physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, or other interventions.
If your symptoms worsen or if you experience swelling, warmth, or fever, seek medical attention promptly. It's important to address these issues early to prevent any long-term damage.
Thank you for your question regarding your knee pain. The first important question that I need to ask you is how tall are you and how much do you weigh? Understanding that you are a female, and that you are 50 years of age, the knee joint, being a weight-bearing joint will typically undergo wear and tear throughout our lifetime. Without experiencing a pathophysiological insult to our knee, typically it is just part of the aging process. Normal wear and tear.
However, as you stated that your experiencing a sharp knee pain upon weight-bearing activities, such as walking, climbing, and descending stairs, paint a picture of a possible osteoarthritic situation of the knee.
However, when you say that your knee hurts when you’re laying down, that means you’re not in the weight-bearing position anymore which would lead me to believe that it is not due to constant, persistent compressive forces that is causing your knee pain.
When you are in the non-weightbearing position, such as such as when your are lying down or sitting and you are still experiencing knee pain, that could be due to an inflammatory condition and/or also due to a structural abnormality that is causing your knee pain.
Specifically at the front of the knee, there’s a condition that is termed, patellar tendinitis. That is due to the inflammation of the patellar tendon as it attaches with the quadricep muscle. Many of my patients have experienced patellar tendinitis, even when they’re laying down or sitting as in a non-weightbearing position.
Also, you said that applying ice does not help relieve your suffering. In the medical, osteopathic, and chiropractic community, we often treat these inflammatory conditions by strictly adhering to the pneumonic KISS..
By keeping the treatment protocols simple, and efficient efficient, the route, my experience, patients are more likely to be more proactive in their recovery.
There is a pneumonic in the healthcare community termed R.I.CE. which is often very effective in relieving this type of knee pain. The capital R stands for Rest meaning that you should stay off the injured knee whether you’re lying in a prone or supine position, basically in a non-weight-bearing environment. The I stands for ice in which you’ve already attempted to apply to relieve your pain. The capital C stands for compression, so what I would advise our patients is to go to target, Rite Aid, or Walmart and buy a ace bandage and as they’re laying down, firmly wrap the ice pack on top of the injured portion of the knee and with the ace bandage, so it actually applies compressive force on the injured area. But it is also important not to wrap it so tightly as to cut off the circulation. By doing so you could shorten the healing time in a more desirable manner.
And finally the E stands for elevation. What does that mean? That basically means that you’re laying down either on your bed or on your couch place four or five pillows underneath your leg or ankle, so that the leg is higher than the level of your heart. This will allow free flowing drainage of the inflammatory fluid away from the injured area, back to the organs that are involved metabolizing and excretion of the inflammatory fluids thus reducing the inflammation, swelling, and subsequently the pain.
This simple method has been very effective clinically throughout the years that I’ve been practicing and has relieved many of my patients non-organic cause of pain.
Another very important clinical pearl to understand about a non-organic cause of knee pain is to go to the inner part of the knee and feel for the vastus medialis muscle, which is the primary stabilizing muscle of the knee. When I am practicing with a younger clinician, I often try to teach them to keep things as simple as possible. There’s no need to look for all the uncommon causes of knee pain when I have seen through the years of clinical practice that a chronically hypertonic, myospasm Tomorrow of the vastus medialis muscle is one of the most common causes of non-organic knee pain.
The simple but very effective treatment remedies would be to perform an active release technique on the muscle belly, followed by myofascial release technique on the musculotendinous portion of the muscle, and finally followed by trigger point therapy on all the spasms throughout the entire muscle. Naturally any subluxations of the knee needs to be properly corrected via Chiropractic or osteopathic manipulations.
By applying these simple, noninvasive techniques, one can avoid taking pain medication’s, and more importantly, surgical intervention.
Another important aspect is nutrition, there is a supplement that is termed chondroitin sulfate or also known as glucoseaminoglycans (GAG’s) which is typically produced from a derivative of shark cartilage, and has been documented to provide partial regeneration to the main cartilages of the knee.
Also it is important to maintain within your normal body mass index (BMI) as chronic obesity will subsequently result in weight-bearing joint pain either at the hips, at the knees and/or at the ankles due to the constant compressive forces being applied to those areas.
I hope that I have answered your question and have provide practical methodologies for you to explorer in your journey to relieve your suffering.
With that being said, please take great care of yourself, pay close attention to your body as the old-saying goes,”It will tell you everything that you’ll ever need to know., and it will never lie to you and lead you down a path astray.
Our body is a temple, and when it is treated as such, one can indeed venture down a path of true health, wellness, and well-being
Yours in health,
Dr. Charles Nguyen
However, as you stated that your experiencing a sharp knee pain upon weight-bearing activities, such as walking, climbing, and descending stairs, paint a picture of a possible osteoarthritic situation of the knee.
However, when you say that your knee hurts when you’re laying down, that means you’re not in the weight-bearing position anymore which would lead me to believe that it is not due to constant, persistent compressive forces that is causing your knee pain.
When you are in the non-weightbearing position, such as such as when your are lying down or sitting and you are still experiencing knee pain, that could be due to an inflammatory condition and/or also due to a structural abnormality that is causing your knee pain.
Specifically at the front of the knee, there’s a condition that is termed, patellar tendinitis. That is due to the inflammation of the patellar tendon as it attaches with the quadricep muscle. Many of my patients have experienced patellar tendinitis, even when they’re laying down or sitting as in a non-weightbearing position.
Also, you said that applying ice does not help relieve your suffering. In the medical, osteopathic, and chiropractic community, we often treat these inflammatory conditions by strictly adhering to the pneumonic KISS..
By keeping the treatment protocols simple, and efficient efficient, the route, my experience, patients are more likely to be more proactive in their recovery.
There is a pneumonic in the healthcare community termed R.I.CE. which is often very effective in relieving this type of knee pain. The capital R stands for Rest meaning that you should stay off the injured knee whether you’re lying in a prone or supine position, basically in a non-weight-bearing environment. The I stands for ice in which you’ve already attempted to apply to relieve your pain. The capital C stands for compression, so what I would advise our patients is to go to target, Rite Aid, or Walmart and buy a ace bandage and as they’re laying down, firmly wrap the ice pack on top of the injured portion of the knee and with the ace bandage, so it actually applies compressive force on the injured area. But it is also important not to wrap it so tightly as to cut off the circulation. By doing so you could shorten the healing time in a more desirable manner.
And finally the E stands for elevation. What does that mean? That basically means that you’re laying down either on your bed or on your couch place four or five pillows underneath your leg or ankle, so that the leg is higher than the level of your heart. This will allow free flowing drainage of the inflammatory fluid away from the injured area, back to the organs that are involved metabolizing and excretion of the inflammatory fluids thus reducing the inflammation, swelling, and subsequently the pain.
This simple method has been very effective clinically throughout the years that I’ve been practicing and has relieved many of my patients non-organic cause of pain.
Another very important clinical pearl to understand about a non-organic cause of knee pain is to go to the inner part of the knee and feel for the vastus medialis muscle, which is the primary stabilizing muscle of the knee. When I am practicing with a younger clinician, I often try to teach them to keep things as simple as possible. There’s no need to look for all the uncommon causes of knee pain when I have seen through the years of clinical practice that a chronically hypertonic, myospasm Tomorrow of the vastus medialis muscle is one of the most common causes of non-organic knee pain.
The simple but very effective treatment remedies would be to perform an active release technique on the muscle belly, followed by myofascial release technique on the musculotendinous portion of the muscle, and finally followed by trigger point therapy on all the spasms throughout the entire muscle. Naturally any subluxations of the knee needs to be properly corrected via Chiropractic or osteopathic manipulations.
By applying these simple, noninvasive techniques, one can avoid taking pain medication’s, and more importantly, surgical intervention.
Another important aspect is nutrition, there is a supplement that is termed chondroitin sulfate or also known as glucoseaminoglycans (GAG’s) which is typically produced from a derivative of shark cartilage, and has been documented to provide partial regeneration to the main cartilages of the knee.
Also it is important to maintain within your normal body mass index (BMI) as chronic obesity will subsequently result in weight-bearing joint pain either at the hips, at the knees and/or at the ankles due to the constant compressive forces being applied to those areas.
I hope that I have answered your question and have provide practical methodologies for you to explorer in your journey to relieve your suffering.
With that being said, please take great care of yourself, pay close attention to your body as the old-saying goes,”It will tell you everything that you’ll ever need to know., and it will never lie to you and lead you down a path astray.
Our body is a temple, and when it is treated as such, one can indeed venture down a path of true health, wellness, and well-being
Yours in health,
Dr. Charles Nguyen
I'm sorry to hear about your pain. This could possibly be a severe case of tendinitis. Muscles can be very painful and generate pain and weakness. If the pain doesn't subside within a few day it would be best to get an MRI of your knee.
This is likely related to the intensity of your exercising - You could have injured something so it is important for you to be evaluated
This sounds like Inflammation of the cartilage on the back of the knee cap.
Get cold pressed, hexane free castor oil and make a Pack out of it. wear it for overnight. Then, before running again, make sure you work on Muscle strength and mobility in the Foot, ankle, Thigh and hip.
Get cold pressed, hexane free castor oil and make a Pack out of it. wear it for overnight. Then, before running again, make sure you work on Muscle strength and mobility in the Foot, ankle, Thigh and hip.
If your pain doesn't relieve follow up with a doctor to get an MRI. They will probably need an xray first before approving an MRI, but make sure to get the MRI.
There are many things you may have going on. My first thought is that your
knees are dehydrated and you damaged them further with use causing the
severe symptoms. I use Applied kinesiology to analyze these conditions.
knees are dehydrated and you damaged them further with use causing the
severe symptoms. I use Applied kinesiology to analyze these conditions.
Have your doctor ordered the proper imaging to rule out chondromalacia and other possible tendonitis?
At 50 years old there is a high likelihood of loss of cartilage in that joint. See a doctor about getting an x-ray for your knee. If it is not "wear and tear" arthritis (osteoarthritis of degenerative joint disease) then you have tendonitis. Find a chiropractor or physical therapist that can treat you with a Class IV Laser. That is one of the best p.t. machines out there for chronic inflammation.
Need lots of ice! Surround knee with ice for 20 on and an hour off. Use KT for knee, can get it practically anywhere. Go to YouTube to see how to apply it to your knee, will give support without a big brace. If not better soon will need an x-ray or MRI which would be better to see what's going on. Probably chondromalacia (runner's knee). ICE! Ice will reduce inflammation.
