“What is this knee pain?”
I am a 21 year old female. I used to be anorexic and had a pretty bad exercise addiction - running around 20km daily. Now running about 7 km a day and have lately been feeling like there is some sort of strange feeling in my knees, hard to describe, same creakiness as you would expect with the worn-out door hinges?
I don't have any major pain in my knees after running, just a constant dull ache that's worse with squatting and going up and downstairs - but if I place my hand on the knee cap and then bend my knee and straighten out, I can feel the vibrations like how a door hinge gives a vibration as we move the door. Really concerned. Please help!
I can feel something like a weird grinding/vibrating sensation "in" my knee (Not, in the same way, I imagine tendonitis to do) when I move my feet up and down after having them placed on the ground (especially noticeable when driving), or even sometimes lying down flat on my back rotating my leg while just having my heel on the ground. I also can push at my patella with my fingers and create the same creaking sensation.
Also, I sometimes get some redness and inflammation around my knee in the afternoon? Please help! very scared this is osteoarthritis or chondromalacia. I have had x-rays and it does not show anything.
I don't have any major pain in my knees after running, just a constant dull ache that's worse with squatting and going up and downstairs - but if I place my hand on the knee cap and then bend my knee and straighten out, I can feel the vibrations like how a door hinge gives a vibration as we move the door. Really concerned. Please help!
I can feel something like a weird grinding/vibrating sensation "in" my knee (Not, in the same way, I imagine tendonitis to do) when I move my feet up and down after having them placed on the ground (especially noticeable when driving), or even sometimes lying down flat on my back rotating my leg while just having my heel on the ground. I also can push at my patella with my fingers and create the same creaking sensation.
Also, I sometimes get some redness and inflammation around my knee in the afternoon? Please help! very scared this is osteoarthritis or chondromalacia. I have had x-rays and it does not show anything.
Female | 22 years old
Complaint duration: 4 months
Medications: None
Conditions: Osteoporosis
2 Answers
The following are my thoughts, and sometimes my tips and suggestions in response to your inquiry:
Thanks for sharing this, and I am hopeful you feel better soon. It sounds like you have some scar tissue build up in the knee, and maybe some bruising to the covering of the bone, behind the knee cap, or at the end of the thigh bone. This covering is called articular cartilage, and does not show up on an X-ray. Strengthening the muscles around the knee, without putting too much pressure on the knee, can help diminish the pain and creaking sounds. If the pain becomes more severe or more often during the day and during regular activities, then an MRI and visit to an orthopedic doctor may be needed.
David T. Neuman, MD FAAOS
Thanks for sharing this, and I am hopeful you feel better soon. It sounds like you have some scar tissue build up in the knee, and maybe some bruising to the covering of the bone, behind the knee cap, or at the end of the thigh bone. This covering is called articular cartilage, and does not show up on an X-ray. Strengthening the muscles around the knee, without putting too much pressure on the knee, can help diminish the pain and creaking sounds. If the pain becomes more severe or more often during the day and during regular activities, then an MRI and visit to an orthopedic doctor may be needed.
David T. Neuman, MD FAAOS
Then the spectrum of abnormalities of the knee, more so than men, women can be prone to patellofemoral disorders that can be broadly categorized as patellofemoral maltracking. Could be any combination of developmental and or acquired. Try to find ways to, while minimizing pain, strengthen your quadriceps and hamstrings. Also, take maximum dosage of over-the-counter Motrin for two weeks (if you can). If no better after that, go see Orthopedics.
