Knee Pain Down To Ankle

How Do I Get Knee Pain Relief

Knee pain is best initially assessed by a general practitioner . They will make an assessment and make sure there are no warning signs for something serious. If they suspect something more serious is causing knee pain, they may do some scans or blood tests and send you to see a pain specialist, neurosurgeon or spinal surgeon.

If the knee pain is mild or improving, GPs may:

• Reassure that there is no serious cause for concern and advise that the knee pain should improve with physical activity and simple pain medications.

If the knee pain persists or returns GPs may:

• Use stronger pain medications

• Suggest management by an expert pain physiotherapist

• Refer to a pain specialist physician to provide more comprehensive knee pain management using options like joint and nerve blocks, sympathetic blocks and radiofrequency ablation , pulsed radiofrequency or nerve stimulation and neuromodulation using spinal cord stimulation.

• Refer to an orthopaedic surgeon for an opinion.

Contact us to book an appointment with a Pain Specialist.

Knee Pain: Causes And Treatments

When it comes to knee pain, early intervention can often keep it from worsening. The most common cause of this condition is a combination of age, injury, or repetitive stress. We age and our joint cartilage and ligaments become less flexible, which can result in sprains and strains. Tendonitis and arthritis can also occur in people who are overweight or have poor joint mobility, both of which are common causes. If you are experiencing knee pain that does not appear to be related to an injury, you should consult a doctor to rule out any potential health issues. In some cases, your doctor may be able to determine what caused your pain and advise you on the most appropriate treatment.

What You Can Do

Take over-the-counter NSAID drugs like ibuprofen and naproxen to ease pain and swelling. RICE — rest, ice, compression, and elevation — can often help, too: Get off your feet. Raise your leg so it’s higher than your heart. Put a cold pack in a thin cloth or towel on your knee for 10-20 minutes at a time, several times a day. Wrap an elastic bandage around your knee when you’re up and about, snug but not tight.

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How Is Knee Pain In Teens Diagnosed

Your healthcare provider will ask about your teens knee pain:

• Is there a known cause for the knee pain does it happen with certain movements or is there no specific known event?
• How long has the pain been present?
• Where on or around your knee do you feel pain?
• Does the pain wake you up at night?

Your provider will perform a physical exam, checking:

• Kneecap and knee stability.
• Alignment of lower leg, kneecap and thigh.
• Range of motion of hips and knees.
• Thigh muscle strength, flexibility, firmness.

Your provider may order imaging tests including X-rays or a CT scan or MRI .

What Are The Symptoms Of Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Iliotibial band syndrome causes pain on the outside of the knee. It might affect one or both of your knees. The pain is an aching, burning feeling that sometimes spreads up the thigh to the hip. You might notice this pain only when you exercise, especially while running. The pain tends to be worst right after you strike your foot, and it might only start up near the end of your workout. As the condition gets worse, your pain might start earlier and continue even after you’ve stopped exercising. Activities that might worsen your pain include going up and down the stairs.

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Lower Leg Pain Caused By Veins And Nerve Issues

1. Blood Clot

When blood thickens in veins, it can develop a clot. This typically happens in the thigh or lower leg, commonly leading to pain from knee to ankle. There is a higher risk if you are overweight, on certain medicines, or inactive for a long car ride or flight.

2. Varicose Veins

Varicose veins are caused by weakness in the vein walls or valves and can lead to a dull ache, particularly after standing.

3. Lower-Extremity Peripheral Arterial Disease

This occurs if your legs arteries get damaged and harden. The legs begin to miss needed blood flow, leading to pain or cramps when walking or climbing stairs.

4. Narrowed Spinal Canal and Sciatica

When the spinal canal narrows due to a herniated disc, arthritis of the spine, or another cause, it can lead to weakness, fatigue, numbness, tingling, or cramping, burning leg pain when you sit or stand. It may start in the hip and the back before extending down the leg.

5. Diabetic Neuropathy

This diabetes complication can be due to high blood sugar levels and leads to pain in both legs. It also features less sensation and numbness in lower legs.

When to See a Doctor

You should see your doctor for pain from knee to ankle if you have the following symptoms:

• Severe pain on injured ankle or shin, particularly when walking
• Severe swelling in lower leg or surrounding muscles and joints
• Altered feelings in foot or shins, like numbness or pins and needles
• Obvious deformity of bones

Chronic Idiopathic Peripheral Neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy refers to the feeling of numbness, tingling, and pins-and-needles sensation in the feet. Idiopathic means the cause is not known, and chronic means the condition is ongoing without getting better or worse.

The condition is most often found in people over age 60. Idiopathic neuropathy has no known cause.

Symptoms include uncomfortable numbness and tingling in the feet difficulty standing or walking due to pain and lack of normal sensitivity and weakness and cramping in the muscles of the feet and ankles.

Peripheral neuropathy can greatly interfere with quality of life, so a medical provider should be seen in order to treat the symptoms and reduce the discomfort.

Diagnosis is made through physical examination blood tests to rule out other conditions and neurologic and muscle studies such as electromyography.

Treatment involves over-the-counter pain relievers prescription pain relievers to manage more severe pain physical therapy and safety measures to compensate for loss of sensation in the feet and therapeutic footwear to help with balance and walking.

Rarity: Rare

Top Symptoms: distal numbness, muscle aches, joint stiffness, numbness on both sides of body, loss of muscle mass

Urgency: Primary care doctor

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Torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament

You hear a pop and can’t move after you suddenly change direction — often while playing soccer, football, or basketball. You may have torn your ACL, which connects the femur and the tibia and prevents the tibia from moving too far forward. Your knee will hurt and swell and feel unstable.

You can tear or strain any of the tissues that hold your knee together: Ligaments connect bones to each other tendons connect muscle to bone. Irritated tendons from using them too much? That’s tendinitis.

What Causes Pain Between Ankle And Knee

There are many potential causes of pain between the ankle and knee. One common cause is a condition called bursitis, which is the inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs that cushion the bones, tendons, and muscles near your joints. Other potential causes include arthritis, gout, tendinitis, injury, or infection. If you are experiencing pain in this area, it is best to see a doctor to determine the exact cause and get proper treatment.

It is possible to experience ankle pain without significant injury. You can get more information about your treatment options by visiting a podiatrist. Inflammation of the joints in lupus or gout is a common cause of fluid buildup. Osteoarthritis can cause pain, stiffness, and loss of motion. Some people have flat feet that do not have any arch. When your ankles are out of alignment with your knees, it can be difficult to roll them back, but it is usually painless. The ankles have two fluid sacs, also known as bursa, which act as a cushion between bones and tendons.

Foot pain may be a pre-existing condition that could explain knee pain. Men and women with bilateral or same-sided knee pain were identified as having foot pain in a study. As a result, patients with foot pain may be more likely to experience knee pain. If you have foot pain, you should consult a doctor to see if there are any underlying issues that are causing it.

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Where Is Your Pain

The hunt for the cause of knee pain is like the search for a home:Location matters.

For example, pain below your kneecap might be a sign of patellar tendinitis, or inflammation in the tendon that connects the kneecap to the shinbone, says rheumatologist Scott Burg, DO. Pain above the kneecap often means quadriceps tendinitis.

Pain on the inside or outside of your knee could be a sign of a torn ligament , Dr. Burg says. But it also could indicate a torn or degenerative meniscus, which is the cartilage that lines and cushions your knee joint.

Those are just a couple of causes, not including various types of arthritis. Location is important, but we also ask other questions, Dr. Burg explains.

Pelvis And Hip Related Causes Of Leg Pain

Pain from the joints and/or muscles of the pelvis and hip may be referred into the legs. Common causes include:

• Piriformis syndrome: Spasm of the piriformis muscle in the pelvis impinging the sciatic nerve.

• Read about Hip Osteoarthritis on Arthritis-health.com

• Trochanteric bursitis: Inflammation of a fluid-filled sac on the side of the hip.

  Read about Hip Bursitis on Arthritis-health.com

Pelvic bone fractures or other hip joint problems due to trauma, overuse, or degeneration may also cause leg pain.

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Causes Of Outer Knee Pain

Like the inside of your knee, the outside or lateral portion of the joint is a crossroads of many different anatomical structures. This can make getting to the bottom of pain in this area equally frustrating. If you have soreness near the lateral part of your knee, the most frequently seen causes are listed below.

Top 3 Reasons Youre Feeling Knee And Ankle Pain In The Same Leg

The hip, knee and ankle are all joints that are responsible for bearing your weight when you walk or stand. Just think about how huge that responsibility is. Now, consider how huge of a problem it would be if you were feeling knee and ankle pain in the same leg. No standing up without pain. No walking without pain. Pain every time you bend your leg. And those are just for starters.

Physical therapists are musculoskeletal system masters, so they know just how vital your knee and ankle joints are. They also know just how disruptive having knee and ankle pain in the same leg can be. Fortunately, physical therapists can help you learn the reason you have pain in your joints. These medical pros can help you find effective treatment for your knee and ankle pain, too.

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What Causes Pfp Syndrome

Patellofemoral pain syndrome is an overuse disorder. These happen when someone does the same movements that stress the knee over and over again.

In PFP syndrome, repeated bending and straightening the knee stresses the kneecap. It’s most common in athletes.

Some people with PFP syndrome have a kneecap that is out of line with the thighbone . The kneecap can get out of line, or wiggle as it moves along the thighbone, because of muscle weakness, trauma, or another problem. If this happens, the kneecap doesn’t glide smoothly over the thighbone when the knee bends and straightens. The kneecap gets injured and this causes the pain of PFP syndrome.

How Is Knee Pain On The Outside Of The Knee Diagnosed

When you see a doctor about lateral knee pain, theyll first ask you to describe the location and type of pain, for example is the pain sharp or aching? Theyll also ask you when the pain started and what activity you were doing when your symptoms began.

Theyll then perform a physical examination that will typically involve extending and flexing your knee, as well as moving it gently from side to side. This may reveal whether theres any swelling, areas of tenderness, or looseness in any of the ligaments.

Imaging tests may also be appropriate, including one or more of the following:

• X-ray to see bones
• Magnetic resonance imaging to get detailed images of ligaments, tendons, muscles, and cartilage
• Computed tomography scan provides a more detailed image of the bone than is possible with a standard X-ray

Based on your symptoms, the physical exam and imaging, a doctor should be able to diagnose the cause and severity of your knee injury and propose a treatment plan.

For minor lateral knee injuries, rest and conservative measures are all that are needed to allow them to heal. However, ligament tears, meniscus tears, and advanced arthritis may require surgery.

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What Kinds Of Arthritis Can Occur In The Knee

In the case of knee pain, one of the most common culprits is arthritis. There are three types of arthritis that can occur in the knee, and it is not unheard for patients to have multiple arthritic conditions present at the same time. The three kinds of arthritis that often develop in the knees include:

• Osteoarthritis : A slow-acting, progressive wear-and-tear process that deteriorates joint cartilage. Middle-aged and older patients are the most likely group to develop OA.

• Rheumatoid arthritis : RA can occur at any age. This inflammatory process can be marked by painful swelling in the joints.

• Post-traumatic arthritis: Patients who have a significant knee injury, such as a fracture, torn ligament, or torn meniscus, may develop post-traumatic arthritis. This can occur many years after the injury itself.

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Treating With Ice Or Heat

Heat or ice can be beneficial in the management of musculoskeletal pain.

Ice is most beneficial if your knee problem is related to an injury. You can try heat to help your pain levels if there’s no swelling and your symptoms are not related to a recent injury.

Never place ice or heat directly on your skin. Use a barrier, like a towel, to protect your skin from a burn.

How long you use ice as a treatment can vary. However, you should generally apply heat or ice for up to 15 minutes. You should also leave a few hours between treatments.

You should stop treating the area with ice or heat and seek advice from a medical professional if you notice an increase in redness, discolouration or blistering of the skin.

If you have any issues with circulation or sensation, you shouldn’t use ice or heat as a treatment for knee pain.

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How The Spine Causes Knee Pain

The nerve roots that transmit the sensation of pain to the legs and feet are located in the lower back. Occasionally with age or injury, the discs between the vertebrae can degenerate or bulge out and press on these nerves.

When this occurs, the nerve becomes irritated and sends out pain signals. The location of the pain depends on which disc is protruding.

The severity of the pain depends on how much of the disc is pressing on the nerve. The nerves that send fibers to the knee are located at the second, third, and fourth lumbar vertebral levels in the lower back area.

If a bulging disc, bone spur, or arthritic joint in the second, third, or fourth lumbar vertebra compresses a nerve, the referred pain will often be felt in the knee.

Referred pain is pain perceived at a location other than where the cause is situated. It is the result of pain signals being sent along the network of interconnecting sensory nerves.

This condition can be diagnosed by your healthcare provider with a thorough history and physical exam. If the nerve that travels to your thigh and knee is irritated or pinched, you may feel a host of symptoms, including:

• Pain in the front of your thigh
• Numbness or tingling in your thigh
• Weakness in your hip or quadriceps muscles

If you have any of these symptoms, see a healthcare provider. In some cases, the hip may be the culprit, so a careful examination is necessary to find the true cause of your knee pain.

What Are The Signs & Symptoms Of Pfp Syndrome

Patellofemoral pain syndrome causes pain under and around the knee. The pain often gets worse with walking, kneeling, squatting, going up or down stairs, or running. It may also hurt after sitting with a bent knee for a long time, such as in a long car ride or in a movie theater.

Some people with PFP syndrome feel a “popping” or creaking after getting up from sitting or when going up or down stairs.

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Pain In Both Legs From Knees Down

The pain in both legs from knees down can be extremely debilitating and make it difficult to walk or stand for long periods of time. The pain may be caused by a variety of things, such as arthritis, nerve damage, or inflammation. Treatment for the pain will vary depending on the underlying cause, but may include pain medication, physical therapy, or surgery.

We can aggravate our lower leg muscles on a daily basis, making it susceptible to injury. Lower leg pain is caused by injuries to the muscles, joints, bones, tendons, and ligaments. One or more nerves that travel from the lower spine to the leg are irritated by sciatica. Muscle cramps, as a result of an involuntary contraction of the lower leg muscles, can cause extreme pain. It can be painful for the calf to experience pain as a result of peripheral artery disease . When the leg vein has a blood clot, a deep vein thrombosis is a potentially fatal condition. In the absence of leg veins, there is a chronic venous insufficiency .