Well, we tricked you! ‘The Kneezles’ aren’t a real condition, but we do want to examine some common conditions that affect the knees and let you know what you can do to help them!

1. Osgood-Schlatter Syndrome is a condition that usually begins and resolves itself in early adolescence. It can be triggered by growth spurts and causes inflammation of the patellar tendon. It can be quite painful and often interferes with recreational sports. OTC medications and physio can help make this syndrome less painful.
2. Bursitis or tendonitis both cause painful soft tissue inflammation around the knee bone (or any other joint). Because tendons are crucial to any kind of movement, both these conditions can be highly painful and restrict movement. Ice and heat, TENS machines and physio may be helpful for cases of knee tendonitis or bursitis.
3. Arthritis – there are many different forms of arthritis that can cause chronic knee pain including: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid, psoriatic, gout, reactive arthritis or lupus, just to name a few. If you experience regular aching or pain in your knees as well as other joints, it may be time for a doctor’s visit to see if you may have some type of arthritis.
4. Cartilage problems – Cartilage is a firm connective tissue found between the bones and joints, within the ribs, around the spine and in the face and respiratory tract. When it becomes injured, damaged or begins to break down it can be very painful as bone will then rub against bone without any cushioning. The knees are a common spot for weathering cartilage. Sometimes this can be helped by physio and other therapy, but severe cases require surgery.
5. Restless leg syndrome is a troubling sleep/movement disorder that causes an overwhelming urge to move the legs or causes involuntary muscle movements that can be very unpleasant and drastically interfere with sleep. Many people with this condition report unpleasant sensations and activity in the knees. There is not much known about this disorder, but luckily there are some naturopathic and medication treatments that seem to help many.
6. ACL injury is a common cause of excruciating knee pain. It happens when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is torn or stretched during sports or a fall and often requires surgery to heal. In some cases, the ACL can repair itself over a long period of time without surgery.

Well that concludes our look at some common causes of knee pain, keep an eye out for some future tips on knee injury prevention and some things you can do to help ease the pain! Thanks for visiting DocChat, remember our board certified physicians are standing by 24/7/365 to answer any of your health-related questions!