Knee Muscle Pain

Your knee joint is surrounded by two main muscle groups: the hamstrings and quadriceps. As the University of Michigan Health System states, knee pain usually stems from injury, arthritis, or an inflammatory condition. Knee pain can be classified as acute or chronic, depending on the diagnosis from your physician. If you have injured your knee or thigh muscles, seek medical attention immediately.

Causes

The University of Michigan Health System states that knee muscle pain can be the result of a traumatic injury or stem from an underlying pathological condition, such as arthritis. In the event of muscle injury, your knee can experience swelling or inflammation due to increase blood flow to the joint. Increased blood flow is your body’s natural defense mechanism following injury. White blood cells in the blood help prevent infection to the traumatized area immediately following injury.

Diagnosis

Differentiating between knee pain caused by muscle trauma and that caused by another medical condition is important for administration of proper treatment to the joint. Muscle injuries are not treated in the same fashion as chronic medical conditions like arthritis. Visiting your doctor as soon as possible after noticing knee pain is vital to accurate diagnosis. Your doctor might want to include an X-ray or MRI during the examination to determine the extent of your joint pain.

Treatment

Depending on the severity of your pain, an exercise program might be recommended for treatment. Maintaining a full range of motion within the knee joint is important for normal limb function, and flexing and extending the knee joint via exercise prevents your knee from freezing, which would otherwise risk further injury. Muscles tend to atrophy following prolonged inactivity, so keeping your joint movable also is important to the healing process.

Precautions

For most knee injuries or pain diagnoses, you should avoid high-impact and full weight-bearing activities until you are either cleared by your doctor or pain-free. Returning to athletic activity too early puts you at risk for a repeat injury. Speak to your doctor regarding the use of any pain medication as well as to rule out potential drug allergies or interactions with current medications. Fever or redness in the knee muscles might be the result of infection and should be addressed immediately by a medical professional.

Future Care

If your pain symptoms continue for more than 12 weeks, speak to your doctor for further direction on treatment. The University of Michigan Health System states that pain follow-up might be required as a precautionary measure even when symptoms are no longer present.

 Note – This information has been taken from different internet sources.