What causes knee pain?
Having knee pain is common and there are many possible causes, which can range from a simple muscle strain, overloading of tendons, to arthritis affecting the joint.
As you age, getting knee pain may become more common. You’re also more at risk of getting knee pain if you are overweight, your job involves repeated kneeling or sometimes be the result of a sports or other injury.
Common causes of knee pain include:
- Meniscal injury – often occurs after a sudden force or twisting of the knee and can occasionally limit movement of the knee; whereby the tear can get trapped in the joint
- Tendinopathy – often occurs after a change in the overall loading or training volume affecting the tendons at the knee; the tendon can become swollen and painful
- Osgood-Schlatter’s disease - a condition that can affect children and young people; the bony lump below your knee cap becomes painful and swollen during and after exercise
- Patellofemoral pain syndrome – often pain is felt behind or around the kneecap; pain is usually felt when going up or down stairs, running, squatting, cycling, or sitting with flexed knee
- Osteoarthritis – the most common type of arthritis and usually affects people over the age of 50; pain might feel worse at the end of the day or when you move your knee. You might have some stiffness in the morning, but this won’t usually last more than half an hour
