Knee Pain
Diagnosis & Treatment
Dr. Pamela Mehta, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon, San Jose
Table of Contents
Knee pain is incredibly common and is faced by people of all age groups. 18 million people with knee pain see their doctor or orthopedic surgeons every year.
Pain in your knee joint can be quite debilitating. It can cause constant discomfort and stop you from performing your daily activities. You can struggle to get up from the couch, climb the stairs, or play sports. It might also impact your sleep and interrupt your exercise regime. Ultimately, it can lead to you putting on weight, making the problem even worse.
Your knee joint has to deal with a lot of stress and strain. It is a “hinge” joint and must take your entire weight while allowing you to run, jump, and turn. When you get pain in your knees, it could be due to any condition of the knee.
This includes problems of the:
- Bones
- Cartilage
- Muscles
- Tendons
- Ligaments
Ligaments are especially vulnerable to sports injury and trauma. A ruptured ligament can lead to your knee becoming unstable and is sometimes difficult to diagnose.
For a prompt diagnosis, you should book a consultation with a knee specialist before you can do any lasting damage.
Knee Pain Symptoms
Knee pain symptoms depend on the cause. Symptoms often associated with knee conditions include:
- Pain in or around your knee at rest
- Pain when you bend or flex the knee
- Pain with certain activities like turning or jumping
- Popping or clicking sounds in the knee
- Difficulty moving your knee
- Your knee locking or buckling
- Bruising or swelling over the knee
- Weakness or numbness in your leg
While some knee conditions heal by themselves, others can cause lasting damage if left untreated. This is whether the pain has come out of the blue or from a sports injury. If you try to “walk it off” you might be causing even more damage – you may not know how serious your knee pain is!
Common causes for knee pain include:
Book a Consultation with Dr. Pamela Mehta, MD
The Best Orthopedic Surgeon in San Jose
Dr. Mehta is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon who can help you recover from your joint condition.
We can help if you:
- Are Suffering From Pain and Mobility Issues
- Need Orthopedic Assessment and Advice
- Want Treatment From a Top Orthopedic Doctor
Call On 408-559-3888
or Send a Message.
Knee Pain Diagnosis
When you suffer from knee pain it’s so important that you visit an orthopedic clinic. This can help to determine whether the cause of your knee pain is serious.
At Resilience Orthopedics you will be seen by Dr. Pamela Mehta M.D., an expert knee surgeon. She will first ask you questions about the location of your knee pain, what makes it worse, and any associated symptoms.
Dr. Mehta will then perform a physical examination of your knee to test for swelling, joint instability, and any serious knee pain signs. Following examination, she will send you for tests including an x-ray and sometimes an MRI. Depending on the possible causes she may also request blood tests or other types of scans.
Once you’ve had your tests, Dr. Mehta will see you to explain the results and her diagnosis of your knee pain. She will give you all of the information you need about what treatments are available to give you relief. Following this, she will work with you to form a personalized treatment plan.
Knee Pain Treatment
At Resilience Orthopedics we offer concierge orthopedic care directed by Dr. Mehta. This means you will see her on every visit and you’ll have a full range of surgical and non-surgical treatment options. Our local surgical center has modern and advanced surgical options. We can treat patients suffering from all knee conditions.
Dr. Pamela Mehta is an expert knee surgeon and is able to diagnose and treat any cause of knee pain. She specializes in advanced surgical techniques for degenerative knee conditions such as arthritis. Minimally invasive surgical techniques help to speed up recovery. Dr. Metha will listen to all your concerns and will work with you to create a treatment plan.
By choosing Dr. Mehta as your knee doctor, you will be offered a full range of non-surgical options. We pride ourselves on avoiding any pushy sales tactics. Conservative treatment can include:
- Exercise plans
- Physical therapy
- Braces
- Crutches
- Hot or cold treatments
- Anti-inflammatory medications
- Cortisone injections
Sometimes surgery such as knee arthroscopy is required to assess the damage in your knee. This can repair the tendons, cartilage, bone, and ligaments inside the knee joint. Knee arthroscopy is a surgical technique that reduces recovery time and scarring.
Knee replacement surgery, known as knee arthroplasty, is an option when the joint is damaged. This advanced technique involves resurfacing the affected joint. The joints are capped with metal and plastic caps, and finally replacing the knee cap.
5 Reasons Your Knee Pain Symptoms Might Be Serious
1. Your Knee is Swollen
This can happen at the same time as other knee pain symptoms. When I say swollen, I don’t mean it just looks a little bigger than the other knee, or you can’t remember what happened. What I mean is that if your knee has swollen up after acute injury, that’s a reason to go see your doctor urgently.
There may be an ACL tear, a meniscus tear, or something in the knee joint that caused that knee to swell up. We need to know about that because it may be something that needs to be fixed. Moreso, we need to get that swelling down so that your muscles are firing properly, and you don’t have another injury to your knee.
2. You Can’t Bend or Straighten Your Knee Fully
Again, I’m talking about something that just happened to you, not something that’s slowly worse over time. One day you wake up and you realize you can’t bend your knee like you used to, or you can’t straighten it properly when you’re getting out of bed.
This could also signify is a mechanical obstruction in the knee. That’s another reason why we need to have you evaluated sooner than later, to rule out any serious problems that might need knee surgery to fix.
Difficulty straightening your knee is frequently due to a meniscus injury or a combined knee ligament injury.
3. Your Knee is Unstable or Buckling.
Again, this is an acute injury where you feel like you can’t stand up quite properly or can’t take too many steps.
Maybe when you pivot or make a quick turn and your knee feels like it’s going to give out. This is absolutely a knee pain symptom which means you need to see your doctor soon. It could signify that you’ve torn one of the major ligaments in your knee.
4. Your Knee is Locked in a Certain Position, or it’s Catching.
This also could be a mechanical obstruction in your knee. This needs to be evaluated sooner than later as well, especially if you’re finding it difficult to walk or are having pain or swelling at the same time.
5. Knee Pain That’s Just Not Getting Better.
This is more of a chronic issue, but if your knee pain symptoms are just not getting any better, you need to get it evaluated. It’s possible that this knee pain is on the medial (inner) or lateral (outer) side of your knee at the joint line. It’s just not getting better despite taking oral anti-inflammatories, icing it, elevating it, and resting it.
You also may feel a sharp pain in that joint line while doing a certain movement or being in a certain position. If with time this is just getting worse, this is another reason to go see your doctor as soon as you can.
Testimonials
Further Information
Learn about the anatomy of the knee joint, including the various functions and movements.
Learn about knee surgery, including minimally invasive surgical techniques like knee arthroscopy.
Knee Conditions
Learn about different knee conditions, their symptoms, how they are diagnosed, and what treatment we can offer at Resilience Orthopedics, including:
