What Can I Do About a Stiff Knee?

POSMC treats knee pain in Allen TX and knows that such discomfort can be debilitating and possibly life-altering. One such specific type of knee pain you might encounter is known as stiffness.

Overview

Knee stiffness occurs when your knee becomes difficult to move. This typically results from some type of damage to the vital physical structure’s joints or other surrounding components.

Causes

Typically, knee stiffness is precipitated by either one of the four critical ligaments connecting the knee joint to supporting bones, including the anterior and posterior cruciate, in addition to the medial and lateral collateral, or the menisci, which are collections of soft tissue enabling free movement of bones around the knee joint.

Should these structures grow damaged or diseased, your knee joint’s movements will be limited. Restricted movement is a major contributor to stiffness.

That said, other occurrences carry the capacity to induce stiffness.

Such events, include sudden knee trauma often seen in falls or automobile mishaps, damage to surrounding cartilage, systemic inflammatory disorders, ligament strains or sprains, and the various forms of arthritis. On rarer occasions, serious infections and a host of malignancies might invade the knee’s internal structures precipitating stiffness.

When To Consult With A Professional

Specialists treating knee pain in Dallas TX urge you to seek prompt medical attention if such stiffness is accompanied by appreciable discomfort or other concerning physical manifestations, like severe bruising, bleeding, a noticeably elevated body temperature, total immobility, coldness, or a loss of sensation.

Possible Complications

If left unchecked, stiffness could grow more pronounced and possibly result in permanent structural damage and mobility problems. Moreover, if the underlying cause is a serious illness, said condition could progress and ultimately be more challenging to remediate.

Diagnosis

Because stiffness is a symptom, your doctor will need to perform a thorough diagnosis to identify the manifestation’s root cause. Said healthcare provider will perform a physical examination that will likely be divided into specific stages.

During the study’s initial phase, the examining physician will ask you a number of questions, such as when the pain started, how intense said discomfort is, if any activities worsen the unpleasant feeling, what other symptoms accompany the stiffness, and if you partake in any sports or other notable physical endeavors.

Upon gathering this information, your doctor will visibly assess your knee and might request you perform various movements to gauge your pain threshold and range of motion.

Should the preceding evaluations still prove inconclusive, your doctor might order more sophisticated diagnostic tests, such as CT, computerized tomography scans, MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging evaluations, and X-Rays. These endeavors enable medical professionals to capture and study internal images of your knee and detect burgeoning issues.

Potential Treatment Options

The specific therapeutic effort your doctor formulates will depend on the underlying problem and said concern’s severity.

Relatively minor injuries could be managed using home remedies, such as rest, applying ice to the impacted knee, using over-the-counter pain and inflammation-relieving drugs, and a course of physical therapy. More significant conditions may require aggressive treatment like surgery.

Contacting Us

If you are experiencing knee pain in Dallas TX and neighboring communities, we encourage you to consult with us. The Plano Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center boasts a team of renowned knee specialists who can provide a comprehensive assessment, pinpoint the reasons for your knee stiffness, and create the most befitting therapeutic protocol.

Call POSMC today!

If you are experiencing shoulder pain in the Dallas, TX area call POSMC today!

To schedule an appointment with one our specialists, contact our scheduling department at 972-250-5700 or request an appointment online.

POSMC is a full-service medical facility specializing in the evaluation and treatment of orthopedic injuries. The practice is led by a group of 12 board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons and a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician. Contact us today!