Diagnosing the Cause of Your Knee Pain
The knee is a very, very complicated joints, so there’s no way that we can fit every test for the knee and what may go wrong with it in this video, but we’ll take a quick look. Now, swelling of the knee is something that’s associated with lots and lots of different types of knee problems. So by itself swelling in some part of the knee, even if it’s just visible to the naked eye, that’s not really enough to make a diagnosis. If however, there’s a lot of swelling at the back part of the knee, and it collects in a pocket of fluid, that’s likely something called a Baker’s cyst that can cause pain at the knee.
So checking for that specific type of swelling may give us an indication for the anterior cruciate ligament, this is one of the most important parts of the knee is for stabilization. And ripping or tearing or hurting the ACL can be a real problem, your doctor may perform a number of tests to determine if an ACL injury or tear is present. Generally, they’ll stabilize the thigh, your thigh and then pull forward on your lower leg go forward. Here’s your shin forward. And if the shin goes further forward than it normally should, that indicates a problem with the ACL.
Arthritis and Osteoarthritis of the Knee Joint
And the third thing to look at here today, when it comes to the knee is arthritis, osteoarthritis, that’s a degenerative process where the bone starts to wear away, there may be pain at the knee, with arthritis, there may be limited range of motion, and there may be something called crepitus. And that’s the feeling or even the sound of grinding or crunching as the bone moves through its range of motion. So limited range of motion that presents his sound and payment, the knee that indicates that osteoarthritis may be present.
We Perform a Comprehensive Examination
So those are three different types of knee problems and the tests which may be used to determine whether or not they’re present. The list is long when it comes to things that can go wrong with the knee and the way that we fully and completely evaluate the knee. So that’s why we do such a thorough history, examination and consultation when you’re in here for your first visit to see what’s gone wrong. And what can we do about it to get you back to feeling the way that you should?