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Knee injuries can cause serious discomfort and disrupt our day-to-day lives. We often forget how hard our body works to keep us going until something starts to hurt. Our joints play a critical role in our mobility and sometimes suffer for it. Knee injuries are one of the most common issues people have with their joints. There are a number of different types of knee injuries, many of which are sports or age related. Our knees and hips bear an incredible amount of weight, often 1.5 times our body weight or more. This happens every time we take a step. It’s no surprise that knee injuries are so prevalent.
When we have problems with our knees like pain or decreased mobility, it is important to seek medical help. Your health care practitioner will diagnose the problem with your knee and prescribe treatment. So what are some common knee injuries? What are knee injury symptoms? Can we do knee injury exercises to feel better? Keep reading to learn more about knee injuries and knee injury diagnosis.
Everyone’s knees hurt sometimes. When we have a problem though, we need to have it treated to prevent it from getting worse. Symptoms that require attention are:
If you experience any of these symptoms you should contact your healthcare practitioner or Portland Urgent Care. Getting a professional diagnosis and care plan is critical to prevent further injury. If you are experiencing knee pain and are in the Portland area, please come to Portland Urgent Care. You will be treated by knowledgeable, caring professionals with state of the art diagnostic equipment. Our knee pain specialists will discuss treatment options with you and help put you on the road to recovery.
People sometimes hesitate to get medical attention for a sore knee, hoping it will get better on its own. Sometimes it will, but often it won’t. Depending on the type of knee injury you have, your knee might get worse and become more difficult to treat. So, when does a knee injury need medical treatment? If your knee injury causes any of the following problems you should seek medical attention:
The recovery time from a knee injury can vary widely depending on the type and severity of the injury. Here’s a general overview based on common knee injuries:
Mild (Grade 1): Recovery usually takes 1 to 3 weeks with rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE), and physical therapy.
Moderate (Grade 2): A partial tear may require 3 to 6 weeks of recovery, along with physical therapy to regain stability and strength.
Severe (Grade 3): A complete tear of the ligament may take 6 weeks to several months, and surgery may be needed, followed by extensive rehabilitation.
Small Tear: Non-surgical recovery takes 4 to 6 weeks with rest and physical therapy.
Large Tear: If surgery is required, recovery can take 3 to 6 months, including physical therapy.
Mild Cases: Recovery may take a few weeks with rest, ice, and stretching exercises.
Chronic Cases: More severe tendonitis may take 3 to 6 months with physical therapy, and sometimes more invasive treatments like injections.
Non-Surgical Cases: For partial tears, recovery might take 3 to 6 months with physical therapy.
Surgical Cases: For complete tears requiring reconstruction, full recovery can take 6 to 12 months, depending on rehabilitation.
Simple Fractures: Recovery typically takes 6 to 12 weeks, with limited weight-bearing activity followed by physical therapy.
Complex Fractures: If surgery is required, full recovery can take 3 to 6 months or more, depending on the severity.
Non-Surgical: Recovery may take 4 to 6 weeks, with rest and rehabilitation to restore strength and mobility.
Surgical: If surgery is needed, recovery can take several months to a year depending on the extent of damage to ligaments or bones.
Minor Injuries: Recovery can take 6 to 8 weeks with physical therapy.
Surgical Cases: If surgery is required to repair cartilage damage, recovery can take 3 to 6 months, depending on the procedure and rehabilitation.
Age: Older individuals may take longer to recover.
General Health: Pre-existing conditions can slow down recovery.
Rehabilitation: Following a structured rehabilitation program can significantly impact the speed and success of recovery.
Severity of the Injury: More severe injuries, particularly those requiring surgery, will take longer to heal.
Consulting with a healthcare provider or physical therapist is important to determine a personalized recovery plan based on the specific injury and individual health.
The type of knee injury a patient has will determine whether it can heal on its own or not. When little or no medical treatment is required, it’s possible for the knee to recover with time and some extra care. During the healing period, it’s generally recommended to keep weight off the knee and possibly use crutches.
Before deciding to walk on an injured knee, you need to know what type of injury you have. Some types of knee injuries will be aggravated by walking. A medical professional can diagnose your condition and give you the best advice. Sometimes it is beneficial to walk. Walking is a low impact exercise that can increase blood flow to your joints. In some cases, this can help relieve the pain. If you do walk and find that it causes more pain, you should rest for a few days and possibly try other low impact exercises like swimming or cycling. Severe pain after walking (or at any time) could be a sign of a serious injury or an inflammation and needs to be looked at as soon as possible.
Torn ligaments are one of the most common types of knee injuries. It’s often a sports injury, but it can happen to anyone. A patient can have a partial or full tear of the ligament. Symptoms that indicate you may have torn your ligament are as follows:
Some of these symptoms are common to other types of knee injuries which is why it is important to have a proper diagnosis. Health care practitioners use a number of methods to diagnose a knee injury: X-Ray, MRI, CT scan, and ultrasound. Once you have the correct diagnosis, a treatment plan can be customized for your recovery.
There are steps you can take to protect your knees. Strengthening them with targeted exercises is a good start. If you are active or play sports, knee injuries can be avoided by learning proper techniques. Proper footwear is important too. Different shoes provide different types of support and can help protect you from injury. Stretching prior to participating in physical activities can also be an effective preventative measure.
If you have knee pain, exercise may or may not help. However, eventually you’ll need to find a way to get moving again. Before determining what exercise is best for your knee pain you should consult a medical professional. In addition, you may want to determine why you are experiencing knee pain. Knee pain may be a result of overuse or something more serious such as osteoarthritis. If knee pain is a result of overuse, a little rest may do you more good than exercising. However, if you want to try to relieve pain some of the following exercises may help knee pain:
Knees should get stronger with exercise and physical activity. Low impact activities like walking, swimming, and cycling are great to help strengthen knees. Stretching and strengthening exercises are really helpful too. We can help keep our knees strong by prevention too. Wearing proper footwear and learning proper techniques for lifting, high impact activities and sports will help reduce the possibility of weakening or injuring our knees.
Walking can be really good for knee pain. Walking is low impact so it doesn’t put excessive pressure on your joints. Exercise increases blood flow which provides much needed nutrients to your joints. How much you should walk can depend on how stiff or sore you are. If you have a lot of pain or your knees are very stiff, you will want to start slow. The goal should be to work up to about 30 minutes of walking a day. Before you begin, you will want to talk to your doctor to make sure that walking will not make your knee pain worse.
If you have knee pain or an injury, you will need expert care. From medical exams, to treatment plans, to pain management, Portland Urgent Care offers a comprehensive care plan to address your specific knee pain needs. Because we understand that finances should never get in the way of living a healthy and pain free life, Portland Urgent Care accepts most insurance plans and provides discounted rates to those who pay at the time of service. Portland Urgent Care, along with our partner, Portland Wellness Care, has a knee pain relief team prepared to treat all types of knee issues such as:
At Portland Urgent Care state of the art medical equipment is used to diagnose the condition and expert treatment is provided. Patients are seen 7 days a week with or without an appointment. Here are Portland Urgent Care (in partnership with Portland Wellness care), we recognize that not all knee injuries are the same. We work to offer each patient the right care plan that suits the level of severity of their injuries. We provide integrative injury rehab services with Portland Wellness Care (physiotherapy, chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage) to address your knee pain needs.
Knee injuries can make life uncomfortable. Fortunately, there are effective treatments available to help you recover from your knee pain. It is important to choose a knowledgeable, experienced team to get the best possible treatment. After all, we only get one set of knees. With so many options available for healthcare providers, you may be trying to choose a provider. Patients can visit Portland Urgent Care with confidence that our team will put patient care first. Gain freedom from your knee pain today and come visit our qualified team at Portland Urgent Care. Our unique model of complete care provides our patients the freedom to find a treatment that best suits their needs - because patient choice matters.
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