Diagnosis Of Knee Pain

As we all know knee pain is a very common complaint among people, and its poor or late diagnosis makes it worse. If you are facing a problem with your knee then you need a proper diagnosis to treat the cause at the early stage.

Diagnosis is, to find out the cause or reason behind your pain(symptoms). Or in other words, diagnosis is, to find the underlying disease.

There are many ways to diagnose knee pain. So when your knee starts hurting you go and visit your doctor and he will diagnose the reason behind your knee pain.

The methods used to make a Diagnosis Knee Pain are:-

History:–  

History means your pain history and history of injuries if there are any. The doctor will ask like: since when you are having pain, type of pain (burning/achy/shooting..), the exact location of pain, pain intensity ( mild-severe), about swelling, pain during knee motion. 

Physical examination by the doctor:-

Your doctor will examine your knee physically by bending, extending, examining the swelling, and also performing some special twisting and rotational movements to check the internal injuries. You have to explain at what movement you are experiencing pain.

Radiological examination:-

X-ray: It is a primary investigation to check the knee joint. In x-ray bones of the knee joint and space between the joint is clearly visible. So if there is any fracture or compromised joint space it will be clearly shown in the x-ray. Osteoporosis or decreased bone density is also visible in the x-ray. X-ray is also a primary investigation in the case of knee osteoarthritis.

MRI: MRI procedure shows the bone as well as the soft tissues. This investigation is more significant and prescribed to check for soft tissue injuries like ligaments, muscles. Cartilage thinning is also visible in MRI, which shows the severity of osteoarthritis.

Ultrasound: This investigation is preferred to visualize the fluid-filled cavities like the bursa inside the joint. If there is constant swelling around the joint and your doctor is suspecting bursitis then ultrasound is suggested. Muscle tears can also diagnose through ultrasound.

A radionuclide bone scan is suggested when your doctor is suspecting any bone tumor or cyst.

Arthroscopy:

It’s a minimally invasive surgical procedure performed by an orthopedic surgeon. In this procedure, a pen-sized prob with a camera is inserted into your knee joint through a small cut to visualize the joint and structures. This prob is called arthroscopy. This procedure is also used to treat some conditions like ligament tears or meniscus tears.