Knee injury

Knee injury is considered a frequent and frivolous injury, but such damage can lead to quite serious consequences.

The frequency of knee injury among the total number of injuries is almost 70%. With such a disaster, the victims are slow to consult a doctor, therefore the treatment of undiagnosed injuries is extremely problematic. A damaged joint due to a trauma such as a knee injury can lead to a prolonged period of loss of motion and ability to work.

For all apparent simplicity, the knee is one of the most vulnerable places, considering that the knee joint is the largest in the musculoskeletal system. In the movement and mechanics of this formation, the patella, the femur, and the tibia are actively involved. The knee is covered with a network of ligaments, and the movement is provided by the synovial fluid. Functions of the knee joint largely depends not so much on the condition of the ligaments as on the meniscus - intraarticular cartilage.

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What causes a knee injury?

The most common injuries resulting from a bruise are ligament ruptures, especially with sharp body bends and fixed stops. Of course, this is primarily sports damage associated with gymnastics, speed skating and figure skating, football and skiing. In addition, a knee injury is a frequent domestic trauma associated either with haste, or with inattention or non-compliance with basic rules of one's own safety. In a risk group, a separate category is children whose traumatism is inevitable due to age-related activity.

Any bruise of the knee is a trauma to both the skin and soft tissues, and the nearby bones are also bruised. Diagnosis in case of injury is done by excluding more dangerous injuries. A bruise is an impact of moderate force on the lateral or anterior surface of the joint. It is very important to determine the cause of the injury, exactly how it happened, its mechanism. So, with an unsuccessful landing from a height, a sharp rotation of the hip is possible, which means that a knee injury and ligament rupture are possible.

How does the knee injury appear?

• Painful sensations in rest and in movement; 
• The joint is enlarged, the contours exceed the usual boundaries; 
• Visible bruising under the skin; 
• patella natans - accumulation in the cavity of the fluid, ballotation of the patella (the leg is straightened, it is immersed in the cavity at the pressure on the patella); 
• Hemarthroses - bleeding, hemorrhage into the cavity, often extensive; 
• Severe edema accompanied by pain and an increase in body temperature.

A knee injury can have serious consequences, namely - ruptures of ligaments, also requires separate treatment of hemarthrosis.

How is hemarthrosis treated?

Knee injury with subsequent hemorrhage requires the help of a surgeon. As a rule, hemarthrosis is extensive and involves puncturing the knee joint to remove excess fluid and accelerate resorption of the hematoma. After a week, physiotherapy, physiotherapy and massage are prescribed. It is possible to fix with an elastic bandage. The course of therapeutic measures lasts about a month.

How is meniscus damage determined and treated?

This trauma is diagnosed extremely difficult due to the fact that the clinical picture "overlaps" hemarthrosis. A meniscus rupture is a characteristic trauma for athletes, when ligaments are either crushed between bones, or parts of it are torn off. The knee blockade can serve as a diagnostic sign of the rupture - the leg does not straighten completely. If the victim does not receive medical help on time, hoping that the edema will resolve, then the knee blockades recur and develop a deforming arthrosis. As a consequence - the possible removal of the meniscus in an operative way, which can also be ineffective due to belated treatment of the patient to the doctor. For the diagnosis, anamnesis is important, since it is almost impossible to determine the gap in the period of independent remission between blockades. Treatment consists in anesthesia, correction of damaged structures, immobilization for 2-3 weeks and the subsequent rehabilitation period, including a specialty gymnastics course.

Knee injury can lead to rupture of ligaments. The cause may be auto-trauma, jumping from a height, falling. Knee ligaments generally do not stretch well because of their low elasticity, so apart from ruptures, there may be stretches or partial ruptures. If the gap is complete, the leg loses stability, as if losing its place. There is no hemarthrosis, but there is swelling, swelling. A few days later, there is a bruise. A complete break involves surgery. In case of incomplete impulse or tension, immobilization for 3-4 weeks is shown using gypsum.

What if you have a knee injury?

With persistent severe pain, swelling of the joint is mandatory X-ray examination. In any case, a strong knee injury must be accompanied by immobilization, depending on the severity or a tight bandage or gypsum lint. Motor activity is resolved after two weeks with the improvement of the condition and the reduction of pain.

A knee injury is a trauma that is well studied and is treated fairly well. After all the therapeutic measures taken, a set of special exercises must be performed to fix the result. One of the most effective techniques that can be used in the period of immobilization is the following: daily it is necessary to raise the leg 150-200 times, both in plaster and without it during the rehabilitation period. The pace can be any, but it is better to do this exercise slowly, perhaps with an additional load (1-2 kilograms). The need for such repeated repetition of the leg is connected with the rapid atrophy of the quadriceps muscle. This important extensor muscle literally in a few days begins to "lazy" and dry out. To increase its mobility and tone, repeated lifting of the injured leg is required.