Everything You Need to Know About the 6 Most Common Knee Injuries

Knee pain is a common condition experienced by millions of people every year. As one of the largest weight-bearing joints, the knee is extremely susceptible to many types of injuries. Common knee injuries include sprains, strains, tears, inflammation, fractures, and dislocations to the joint and connective soft tissues. 

Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about what causes knee injuries and how to treat them.

1. Ligament Sprains and Tears

The injury: Ligaments are the fibrous connective tissues that connect bone to bone. Their primary purpose is to stabilize and support structures in the body. The knee has four important ligaments that stabilize the joint: lateral collateral ligament (LCL), medial collateral ligament (MCL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The knee ligaments are susceptible to injuries like sprains and tears. A sprain occurs when ligaments become overstretched. Left untreated, sprains can lead to tears in the tissues. The most severe injury is a complete tear, where the ligament detaches completely from the bone.  

What causes it: Taking a direct blow to the knee, making a sudden twist or change in direction, falling on the knee or landing incorrectly after jumping are movements that lead to ligament injuries. Sports, high-impact activities and traumatic accidents like falls or car accidents all increase the risk of developing an injury.      

Symptoms: A mild sprain or tear may cause only mild knee pain with flexing and movement. More severe or complete tears cause pain, swelling, bruising, and difficulty moving or bearing weight on the knee. 

Treatment: Many ligament injuries can be treated without surgery. The first course of action is R.I.C.E. — rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Your doctor may also recommend over-the-counter pain medications to reduce pain and swelling, and taping or bracing the knee to stabilize the joint while the injury heals. Once the injury heals, stretching and physical therapy can help regain strength, flexibility, and range of motion in the knee. Severe or complete tears may require surgical repair.    

2. Tendon Injuries

The injury: Tendons are the fibrous connective tissues that connect muscle to bone. Tendons aid in flexible movement of structures in the body. The knee tendons are susceptible to becoming overstretched (strained), irritated, inflamed or torn. Irritated, inflamed tendons are at higher risk of tearing. The most severe injury is a complete tear, where the tendon detaches completely from the bone.   

What causes it: Tendon injuries are most commonly overuse injuries. Sports that involve repetitive running or jumping motions frequently lead to overuse and subsequent injury. Chronic overuse of the tendons without allowing adequate rest or healing can eventually cause progressive degeneration of the fibrous tissues. Traumatic accidents like falls and car accidents can cause tendons to become overstretched.  

Symptoms: Typical symptoms of a tendon injury are pain with movement, swelling, stiffness, and decreased movement or range of motion in the knee. 

Treatment: Many tendon injuries can be treated without surgery. The first course of action is R.I.C.E. — rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Your doctor may also recommend over-the-counter pain medications to reduce pain and swelling. Once the injury heals, stretching and physical therapy can help regain strength, flexibility, and range of motion in the knee. Complete tendon tears usually require surgery to repair the damage and restore functionality. 

3. Meniscus Tears

The injury: The meniscus is a fibrous cartilage that sits between the bones of the knee to absorb shock, evenly distribute body weight, and enable smooth, flexible movement. The meniscus is susceptible to tearing.  

What causes it: The meniscus can tear when twisting the knee suddenly while bearing weight on it. It’s a common injury in contact sports and sports that require a lot of running and jumping. Additionally, age, and natural wear and tear can cause weakening and degeneration of the cartilage over time, eventually leading to a tear. This type of tear is more common in older adults.  

Symptoms: Symptoms of a meniscus tear include knee pain, stiffness, loss of range of motion in the knee, popping, catching or locking feeling during movement, and a feeling or weakness or “giving out” of the knee during movement. 

Treatment: Many meniscus tears can be treated without surgery. The first course of action is R.I.C.E. — rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Your doctor may also recommend over-the-counter pain medications to reduce pain and swelling, and a brace to immobilize the knee while the injury heals. Once the injury heals, stretching and physical therapy can help regain strength, flexibility, and range of motion in the knee. Severe tears may require surgical repair. 

4. Fractures

The injury: While any of the bones that make up the knee joint can fracture, the most common type of knee fracture involves the kneecap. The kneecap covers and protects the joint, which makes it vulnerable to injury. Kneecap fractures can range in severity from a small crack in the bone to breaking of the bone into multiple pieces.  

What causes it: Direct trauma to the knee from a fall, car accident, or contact sports collision causes fractures. 

Symptoms: If you sustain a fracture, you’ll likely know immediately. You may experience intense pain, swelling, bruising, a grating or grinding sound with movement, and an inability to bend the joint or bear weight on it. Some fractures may cause visible deformity or bone exposure.  

Treatment: Simple fractures may heal naturally without surgery. You’ll need to wear a cast or splint to keep the knee immobilized during the healing process. Ice and over-the-counter pain medications can help reduce pain and swelling. Severe fractures require surgical repair. After healing, your doctor might recommend physical therapy to help regain strength, flexibility, and range of motion in the knee.   

5. Dislocations

The injury: A knee dislocation occurs when the bones of the joint or kneecap move out of place. The bones can move either partially or completely out of alignment. 

What causes it: Direct trauma to the knee from a fall, car accident, or contact sports collision causes dislocations. 

Symptoms: Dislocation causes immediate, intense pain. It also causes swelling, visible deformity, and an inability to walk or bear weight on the joint. 

Treatment: Some dislocations correct themselves naturally. In some cases, your doctor can manually relocate the bones back into alignment. In other cases, you may need surgery to repair an accompanying fracture or repair surrounding soft tissue or artery damage. After your doctor performs treatment, you’ll need to wear a brace or splint to immobilize the knee during healing. Ice and over-the-counter pain medications can help relieve pain and swelling.    

6. Osteoarthritis

The injury: Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of joint pain, inflammation, stiffness, and loss of movement in the knee joint. The condition develops when wear and tear on the joint causes the protective cartilage to wear away. Over time, osteoarthritis causes progressive degeneration of the joint and connective tissues. 

What causes it: Age, genetics, obesity, and normal wear and tear over time are the primary risk factors for developing osteoarthritis. Additionally, experiencing knee injuries like tears, sprains, strains, fractures, and dislocations increases your risk of developing post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Post-traumatic arthritis is a common form of arthritis that occurs after one or several knee injuries leads to the joint wearing out. 

Symptoms: Primary symptoms include joint pain, stiffness in the morning and after long periods of inactivity, swelling, and loss of knee movement and range of motion. In cases of osteoarthritis, symptoms typically start slowly and worsen over time.   

Treatment: Arthritis is a chronic condition that doesn’t have a cure. But knee pain and symptoms can be managed with medications, cortisone injections, physical therapy, weight management, and regular low-impact exercise and stretching. If joint damage continues to progress, joint replacement surgery may be an option.  

When Do I Contact iO-Core for Knee Pain?

Contact us if you’re experiencing chronic pain and loss of movement from arthritis or a non-healing knee injury, or if you’ve been told that joint replacement surgery is the only treatment option left for you.   

Our team can help you determine if the iO-Core™ procedure is a viable treatment option for you. iO-Core™ is a minimally invasive procedure that combines orthopedics and biologics to treat degenerating cartilage and underlying bone and tissue damage caused by arthritis and joint injuries. 

Treating the underlying damage and not just the surface layer of cartilage has shown better results over “standard of care” methods in decreasing pain and improving mobility for many patients. Many people who were told they needed a total joint replacement surgery have found long-term pain relief from iO-Core™ instead.  

Call our team today to see if you qualify for the iO-Core™ procedure.