How are your knees doing? Are they "killing" you?
If you are coping with severe knee pain, a quick glance at the waiting room of nearly any hospital emergency room across the country would show you that you're not alone. In fact, it is estimated that as many as one in three Americans over the age of 45 have reported experiencing some type of knee pain. Many people are surprised to learn that knee problems are not always caused by some sort of traumatic injury.
So What Causes Knee Pain?
While an injury is the most common cause of severe knee pain, there are several other potential causes of which you should be aware. Arthritis is to blame for a large number of incidents of severe knee pain problems and though most tend to think of arthritis as being reserved for 'old people', there is no minimum age limit. Young people are known to suffer from arthritis just as the elderly do.
Inflammation
The knee is surrounded by three major fluid filled sacs called bursae (the plural form of the term 'bursa'). In the condition known as septic bursitis, those sacs have become infected with bacteria. The bacteria can in turn cause the bursae to inflame and thus cause the severe knee pain known as bursitis. Incidentally, this is the very same bacteria that cases staph infections on the skin (known as staphylococcus) and it can cause severe knee pain that is as bad as the pain associated with a staph infection.
Knee Braces - The Runner's Badge of Honor
Of course there are plenty of physical traumas that can lead to severe knee pain as well. Many runners are more than happy to proudly display their scars from visits to the surgeon when they've had one of any number of dislocations, ligament tears and / or fractures. Even the ones who haven't had surgery can be seeing carefully putting on their knee brace before starting out on their daily run. The knee brace is seen as a badge of honor among many diehard marathon runners.
The same can be said for nearly any other sport including the seemingly sedentary golf. That's right; golfers are prone to severe knee pain as well! Everything from simple strains and sprains up to and including a torn meniscus is far more common among avid golfers than you might think.
Before you think that you are safe from having knee problems of your own because you aren't involved in sports, you should know that a tremendous number of knee injuries don't occur during sporting events at all. In fact, the condition referred to earlier in this article - knee bursitis - is also commonly referred to as housewife's knee, roofer's knee or carpet layer's knee and none of those qualify as sports.
Severe knee pain can be caused by traumatic injury related to sports play or it might simply be a genetic issue that the slightest trauma may bring to your awareness. Regardless of the cause, severe knee pain should be diagnosed and treated by your physician as soon as possible to lessen the likelihood of permanent knee damage.
In the end, your knee pain is your business. You can address it as you see fit. If you have never considered using a brace, now should be the time that you take a moment to do so, for your own good. Many people refer to their braces as "pain pills", due to the pain reduction that they can provide when you use them. - You deserve to be pain free, don't you?
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