5 Most Common Knee Injuries
Knock, knock. Who's there? Knee injury. Would you open the door? Well, pain and injury are not pleasant experiences for anyone. Often, the pain of recovery is greater than the pain of the injury itself, you have to lie in bed and watch games that kill you from the inside out.
Out of all these uncomfortable states of frustration, disappointment, and a feeling of resentment you are carrying underneath, can you guess the beautiful part of it? It strengthens you in many ways. The lessons you learn from injuries are some of mother nature's greatest gifts.
Injuries, however, are just like that. It seems like everything has changed at once. Yet, the gift delivered by injuries is not just a process of recovering, rather a process of discovering. You never know, the healing journey may prove to be the greatest blessing of all.
Unless the wound isn’t in mind, it can’t affect you physically for plenty of time, or you might have heard this quote before, ‘your body can bear almost anything, it’s your mind that you have to convince’ becomes very true when it comes to knee injuries.
The knee is the widest (or the largest) and most complex joint of the human anatomy. Bones, ligaments, cartilage, and tendons work together as a team for you to walk, bend your leg, and allow you to actively participate in sports.
The knee is an active part of the body that is working almost every time, hence it's prone to multiple injuries. Due to its sensitive nature, you are likely to suffer knee pain. Fortunately, knee injuries can be effectively treated at home, except in critical cases that require surgical intervention.
Symptoms Of Knee Pain May Be Serious:
● Large Wounds.
● Joint instability.
● Extreme pain.
● Deformity.
● Swelling.
● Inability to straighten the leg.
● Popping sound.
● Inability to stand or bear weight.
The 5 Most Common Knee Injuries:
Since the knee is the most complex joint in the human body made up of various segments which are prone to numerous injuries, the probability of various injuries is always a possibility. Below are the 5 most common knee injuries discussed:
1. Knee Dislocation:
Knee dislocation is a rare case that, if occurs, not only causes dreadful or extreme damage to anatomical parts but also may include nerves, blood vessels and muscles. Hence, as an emergency case it seems, it necessitates emergency treatment and surgery as well.
Dislocations arise when an outside force or something heavy knocks the knee. There are very many chances of the dislocation of the patella (kneecap) that is immensely painful but it's not life-threatening.
2. Meniscus Tear:
The meniscus is C-shaped rubber-like cartilage that functions as a thunderbolt or bombshell to save your knees. It is most common and occurs in sports like soccer and football, where players keep changing directions quickly.
A simultaneous twisting and tolerance of weight on the knee forces the meniscus to be torn. Any type of quick crumple on the knee can result in a meniscus tear. However, if the damage is severe then the meniscus tear can't be healed on its own and requires surgery.
3. Knee Fracture:
A knee fracture involves the forefront part of your knee called the patella or kneecap to break minimal, partial, or complete. The kneecap is always susceptible to fractures as its duty is to protect the knee joints from further damages. It works as a shield, thus when you accidentally fall, the patella takes the damage.
Knee fractures are very common in people of all ages and mostly in professional sports players but they're censorious too. If the fracture is minor, the bones may heal themselves. In other cases, surgery is the only option.
4. Knee Tendon Tear:
When the knee gives away itself when you walk, or an upward movement of the knee towards the thigh is a kneecap tendon tear. Activities like jumping, running, or over pressurizing the knee joint might tear the patellar.
It is a case when the tendon separates itself from the kneecap, hence the patient finds himself unable to straighten the knees. Nevertheless, early medical treatment includes resting, compressing an elastic bandage, applying ice bags, elevation, and consuming pain relievers.
5. Knee Ligament Injury:
The unnatural twisting and overextension movement of the knee when the ligaments are helpless to keep their original position. The knee ligaments forcefully fail to do their job and as a result, they tear down.
Knee ligament damage is one of the most common injuries in the field of sports, where the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) along with the collateral ligaments such as the medial collateral ligament (MCL) & the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) are most commonly damaged.
Furthermore, the injuries are divided based on the degrees of criticalness:
● GRADE I: A small bruising and slightest swelling are noticed.
● GRADE II: An additional swelling greater than grade I am observed. The ligaments are moderately or partially torn.
● GRADE III: It is when the ligament is completely ruptured. It is a situation of severe pain. The affected part and neighboring area are overly bruised and swollen.
Conclusively, don’t let an injury be the determining factor of who you are and who you are known to be. Instead, try to use it as a learning experience so you will be better off when you come back.