Contents:
- Medical Video: Knee Pain: Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention
- What causes knee pain when climbing stairs or climbing?
- 1. Repeated and excessive foot activity
- 2. The position of the kneecap is not parallel
- 3. Thigh muscle or weak calf
- 4. Injury
- How to deal with knee pain due to chondromalacia
Medical Video: Knee Pain: Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention
Painful knees when climbing stairs or climbing a hill can be caused by many things, which you often don't even realize. Before seeing a doctor, find out first what are the possible causes so that you can also know the treatment options that might be available.
What causes knee pain when climbing stairs or climbing?
In the medical world, the condition that causes the knee to hurt only when climbing stairs or climbing a hill is called chondromalacia. Chondromalacia occurs when the cartilage below the kneecap softens and over time thinning. Though the cartilage is very important to be a cushion to prevent friction between bones that meet in the knee (thigh bone, shin, and kneecap / patella).
When this cartilage is damaged, the bones of the foot will rub together to cause pain when the legs are bent and straightened, such as when going up and down stairs, uphill, until kneeling and squatting and when moving from these positions. The knee joint is also susceptible to "crack!" When bent.
The relief of the knee cartilage can be caused by:
1. Repeated and excessive foot activity
Routine running, jumping, or any physical activity that requires the use of knees to support body weight can cause the knee cartilage to wear out for a long time. This can happen to people of all ages, but it is more common in young people and athletes.
2. The position of the kneecap is not parallel
The uneven position of the kneecap makes it completely unprotected by the cartilage. The peculiarity of this shell position is generally caused by genetic or physical disability at birth.
Just a little the kneecap position is not parallel, the cartilage is more susceptible to wear and thinning so that the risk of causing bones to rub against each other.
3. Thigh muscle or weak calf
The leg muscles help support the knee and keep all the bones that meet at the knee in place. If this muscle is not strong enough, the kneecap bone can be pushed out of the way it should. The uneven kneecap position can make the knee hurt when climbing stairs or climbing.
Women tend to have less muscle mass around the knee than men, making it more susceptible to chondromalacia.
4. Injury
Foot injury due to falls, motorized accidents, or the result of receiving a blunt blow around the knee can move the kneecap out of its path so that it eventually damages the cartilage.
In addition to the four causative factors above, people who have flat feet, different leg lengths, or have joint problems are also susceptible to chondromalacia.
How to deal with knee pain due to chondromalacia
People who experience knee pain or symptoms of chondromalacia should immediately see a doctor. Early treatment can reduce pain while preventing more severe damage to the cartilage. Here are some ways you need to do:
- Doing low impact exercise. This type of exercise provides emphasis on the knee which is very minimal so it does not burden the work of the knee. Examples such as swimming and cycling.
- It's best to rest your feet and compress with ice to reduce the pain.
- Maintain weight with a balanced diet. The heavier the body weight, the knee will get a greater burden.
- Use painkillers. While reducing knee pain, you can use drugs such as ibuprofen.
- Go to the doctor immediately to find out the cause.
- If chondromalacia occurs due to muscle imbalance, certain exercises are needed to balance it which will be guided by physiotherapy to restore the parallel shell position again.
