When to go to the Doctor for knee pain

7 symptoms help to know When to go to the Doctor for knee pain

Sometimes you feel pain, stiffness, and swelling in your knees. When you feel discomfort in standing, sitting, or walking. Then should you ignore this situation?? Treat it by yourself? Or wait a time for recovery by itself ???

It is a situation where you must decide when to go for a checkup or visit a doctor. 

Here’s are the situation where you should go to a doctor. 

When to see a doctor for knee pain and swelling

1- Difficulty in walking  

Knee pain occurs gradually, sometimes suddenly, or repeatedly comes and goes with time. It would help if you visited the doctor when you feel continuous pain while walking for a long time. 

2- often difficulty in sitting or standing 

When you feel a sharp pain in your knees while sitting and standing, it may result in discomfort and pain around the kneecap. you are unable to move your knee freely in any direction.

3-Feels instability in knees 

It is a situation where you feel discomfort moving or twisting your knees. You feel pain while moving your knees in an upward or downward position. It gives the feeling of a loose kneecap. It may happen due to some injury. You feel like lifting your kneecap. When it hurts you a lot to move your knees, you should visit a doctor. 

*Difference in knee appearance Knee size is different according to different groups of ages. When you feel your knee size is different from regular. If one knee seems different from another, this is called a deformed look. You should be alert to this situation and visit the doctor immediately.

4- Feel pain while putting weight on the knee 

In this situation, your knees are unable to carry your body weight. As you are in a standing position, you feel uncomfortable and want to shift your weight to the other knee, and sometimes if both knees are hurting, you will not be able to stand for a long time and will try to sit immediately.

5- Painful knees from a long time  

There are many reasons behind knee pains. Sometimes it is because of injury, and he gets fine after treatment. But If your knees feel pain for a long period and get you in trouble, you should take it seriously. 

6- Difficulty in moving the knee joints 

Stiffness and tightness in your knee muscles can create difficulty moving your knees. It creat trouble in moving joints or create a swear pain. When you have difficulty moving your knees and feel pain in your joints, you should go for a checkup.

7- Swelling and Redness around the knee 

Due to some injury, your knees get red and swell around the knee joint. And sometimes, it happens because of some underlying health issue. The swollen knee may look as “squishy” as a water balloon. If the swelling remains for more than three days, it becomes critical, and you must visit your doctor. 

When you have knee pains, you think about how long knee pain should last before seeing a doctor ‘ then you should also know the medical reasons behind knee pains.  

While deciding how long knee pain should last before seeing a doctor, you must know how about some knee issues of knees.

 
Osteoarthritis

 It is known as “wear and tear” when cartilage in your knee joint breaks down or 

progressive loss of articular cartilage. In this situation, your joint rubs with each other, and the results are very dangerous. This disease can affect any part of the body. 

And it mostly happens in older people, as 50-plus years of age are commonly affected by this issue, but nowadays, this also occurs in young people.  

  • stiffness and swelling in the knees 
  • pain occurs while walking 
  • feel cracking voices when sitting & standing 
  • feel it hard while climbing stairs 
  • it increases when there are changes in weather,

Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which your immune system attacks the tissue lining the joints on both sides of your body. The immune system means the body’s natural self-defense system gets confused and starts to attack your body’s healthy tissues. It is also known as an auto-immune condition. The patient feels a high level of stiffness, joint pains, and swelling in his joints. The reason behind this is still unknown and undefined. This can affect people of any age group.  

It also results in the following diseases. 

skin: small lumps under the skin

mouth: irritation in the mouth  

stomach problem : ( not feeling hungry)

eyes: dryness of eyes 

tiredness: not feeling energetic 

blood: decreases in red blood cells 

Heart: it can damage heart muscles and the area around the heart 

Ligament injuries

This is also a big reason for knee joint pain, and it happens when you twist your leg incorrectly. When your leg is in front, and you turn your feet in any other direction that is not at a comfortable or perfect angle. And sometimes your feet stay in one way, and your knee turns in another, then your joint hurts badly, and you have this problem. 

Another reason is sudden slowing down when you are running and jumping, which can cause this type of injury. 

Dislocated kneecap

There is a bone in front of the knee called the kneecap or patella. When this kneecap slides out of its place, it is called dislocation of the kneecap. 

In this position, the patient feels too much pain when he moves his legs up and down. Sometimes, the legs remain in the bend position, and it hurts to straighten the leg. 

When there is a bump appears outside of the knee, that means the patella is dislocated. 

There are different reasons for kneecap dislocation as direct putting excess weight on the knee, as in a fall or an accident, can push the kneecap out of the groove, and sometimes it gets by people during sports when they suddenly twist their knees while playing. 

Meniscal tear

Infect a meniscal tear is one of the knee’s most frequently occurring cartilage injuries. People who belong to sports mostly get this type of injury or knee problem called a meniscal tear. During sports, when a person forcefully moves, twists, and rotates his knee, they get swear pain in the knees. 

Sometimes it happens when we put our whole body weight on our knee joint. 

what doctor to see for knee pain?

There are different reasons behind different knee problems. And these problems vary from person to person. Some people get injured and have knee issues, others due to age issues, and may b due to several other reasons. Many peoples think about whether I should get their knees checked out.   

 So it would be best if you went to a doctor who specializes in your concern disease of the knees. There are different knee doctors for different knee problems. You should check doctors and go to your concerned one.

1- Orthopedic surgeons

Orthopedic surgeons are Doctors who specialize in surgeries on bones. And who has completed a five-year specialization in surgical treatment?  

If you get injured, which affects your knees, you should go for an orthopedic surgeon. If your knee pain is due to some injury, you should visit an orthopedic. 

2- Sports medicine physicians

Sports medicine physicians are the doctors who diagnose or treat injuries that happen during sports activities. They received special training in the non-musculoskeletal aspects of sports medicine. 

When you get any physical injury on your knees while playing or in any sports or physical activity, you should visit your concerned doctors and a sports medicine physician.

3- Rheumatologist

A rheumatologist is a doctor that is specialized in diagnosing and treating inflammatory conditions of joints. And also diagnosis and treating chronic symptoms affecting the musculoskeletal system.  It would help if you visited a rheumatologist when you feel any swelling on your knee or feel inflammation in your joints.

In another case, if you feel rashes on your knees that result from fever, you should go to a rheumatologist. 

How do you describe knee pain to a doctor?

Be as specific as possible when talking to your doctor about knee pain. It helps the doctor understand the exact disease reasons. As clear as he gets your problem, it is easy for the doctor to recognize it, making the recovery process faster. 

1- Is you feel a cracking voice in your knee joint?

While you are moving your legs or feels any cracking and grinding voices, grinding voices means when two bones rub into each other and create a sound. Then describe the proper situation to your doctor.

2- Have you felt swelling in your knees

Sometimes you get swelling on your knees at a specific time, sometime in the morning or at night. If you have a doctor s appointment other than this time, then capture a picture of your swollen knee and show it to a doctor for a better diagnosis of the disease.

3- Are your knee muscles stiff?

Suppose you feel stiffness in your joints. It creates trouble in moving your legs you feel, and you feel your joint muscles stuck in sitting or standing. Then tell your doctor that you cannot move your joints freely in any direction then.  

4- Are you feeling weakness while walking?

 Describe to your doctor that you are not feeling comfortable while walking. When you take steps, your feel pain in your knee joints. 

5- Is your knee unable to carry weight

Explain to the doctor that you feel a sharp pain when you are standing while putting your weight on your knees. You are trying to shift your weight quickly on other body parts.

Conclusion

Avoid attempting to ignore knee pain. Seek medical attention if you suffer even one of the symptom combinations. Consult your general practitioner first if your symptoms appear to be slight or infrequent. When deciding whether to see a specialist, he or she can assist you.

Make an appointment with a knee specialist for an evaluation if your symptoms change suddenly or become more intense, especially if you are an athlete.

Seek emergency medical attention right away if you develop severe symptoms, like a high fever.

Frequently asked questions ( WHEN TO SEE A DOCTOR FOR KNEE PAIN )

What causes knee pain? 

There are different reasons behind knee pain. It may happen due to an injury, age factors, or some medical issues.

How does knee pain affect daily routine?

knee pain creates trouble in walking, sitting, and moving and makes it difficult to perform daily activities. 

When is knee pain serious?

When it retains for a long time, you feel uncomfortable performing your daily activities. 

Can knee pain cure?

yes, you can visit a doctor for a checkup. Its treatment might need to be faster. But it stops your disease from getting worse.  

what is the recovery time for knee pain? 

Recovery time for knee pain is slow as compared to other diseases. It takes at least two weeks to heal.