Knee Pain: Common Causes and Prevention Tips

If you’re someone who is a professional athlete or even if you simply workout on a regular basis, although the exercise that you’re getting is great for your health and well-being, the more that you do, the more susceptible you are to encountering some kind of leg injury. The good news is that many of them are actually pretty easy to treat.

If you’re curious to know about what you can do should you experience a leg injury in the future, we have five great tips for five different kinds of injuries below:

Hamstring injury. Definitely one of the most common kinds of leg injuries that people experience is a hamstring injury. This occurs when one or more of your hamstrings is pulled. Oftentimes, people who play sports like football or soccer have them. When you’re diagnosed with this particular kind of leg injury (that can also cause discomfort to your knees), in order to get the swelling to go down, it’s best to elevate your leg, put on some ice packs and then alternate with some heat compression. Also, be sure to get plenty of rest.

Calf strain. Being that many sports and work out routines consist of pointing your feet and bending your knees, you might end up with a bit of a calf sprain from time to time. That’s because sometimes your leg muscles will contract while your knee is bent which can result in pain in the calf and knee area. Customarily, the way this is treated is by applying cold therapy, taking some anti-inflammatory medication and getting regular leg massages.

Tendonitis. If you’ve ever heard of someone referring to a leg injury as “jumper’s knee”, what they’re speaking of is tendonitis. If you start to feel a sharp pain in between your kneecap and shin bone or after working out, you feel a dull pain in that area, this could be the reason why. Treatment for tendonitis includes stretching, strengthening exercises and in serious cases, corticosteroid shots.

Runner’s knee. People who run on a consistent basis can sometimes get what is known as “runner’s knee”. In fact, this is something that an orthopedic surgeon treats if runner’s knee does not heal with at-home treatment. Runner’s knee symptoms include feeling a dull, aching pain when you’re walking up a flight of stairs or as you’re attempting to squat or kneel. Usually it comes from encountering a sports injury, excessively working out or even having flat feet. Wearing a knee brace, taking anti-inflammatory medication, putting inserts in your shoes for extra support and applying ice while elevating your leg are all things that can help to get you on the road to recovery.

Osteoarthritis. One kind of arthritis that is common among athletes and people who work out on a consistent basis is osteoarthritis, which is basically a degenerative health issue that affects your joint cartilage. Symptoms usually include stiffness, swelling and weakness in the knee and leg areas and it usually can be managed with the help of low-impact exercises, heat and/or ice therapy, acupuncture and elastic bandages. In extreme cases, sometimes surgery is required. For additional information on common leg injuries and how to treat them, contact your local health care provider.