Most Common Cause Of Knee Pain In Young Athletes

Young athletes are always enthusiastic and energetic. Hence, they ignore the physical strengths and overdo activities, which results in injuries.

A torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL Reconstruction Surgery) is an example which is not only painful but can bring an early end to the career in sports.

However, there is no need to get disheartened. Not every knee injury is that severe. Some problems cause significant knee pain but are easy to treat, one example is Sinding-Larsen-Johansson syndrome.

A physically adolescent person who is very active in sports is under a big risk of developing Sinding-Larsen Syndrome according to orthopedic specialists.

Especially during the growing age, the bones grow faster in a child than the surrounding tendons. It results in traction and tightness in the tissues, and it converts into inflammation eventually.

If the young athletes continue doing extensive physical activities such as sprinting, squatting, and jumping, then it puts great stress on the front part of the knee and the base of the kneecap.

You develop symptoms slowly

The main problem with a knee pain amongst the young athletes is that it grows very slowly. It is not like a sudden eruption of pain on one beautiful morning.

There is no pop or a feeling of something going out of position. Instead, it is a gradual increase of symptoms starting with an ache in the knee while performing some offending activity.

Because the pain subsides when kids rest, there is a tendency of pushing through the pain. As a result, the knee sores when the leg is at rest.

In the Sinding-Larson problem, the swelling or loss of motion is not severe. Still, doctors recommend that one should see some specialist when the pain doesn’t improve within a couple of days.

The visit can be preponed if the swelling is dominant and there is a difficulty in moving the leg entirely. It’s likely a severe injury.

It is important to ease the pain

Knee pain amongst young athletes is more troublesome because they have a less pain-bearing capacity than adults.

Hence, doctors follow the following steps to release the pain.

Knee pain amongst young athletes is more troublesome because they have a less pain-bearing capacity than adults.

Hence, doctors follow the following steps to release the pain.

·       They subscribe pain-releasing and anti-inflammatory medicines for a week or two to reduce swelling. More prolonged consumption is avoided as these medicines have the risk of gastrointestinal issues like acid reflux or ulcer.

·         Physical therapy helps in stretching the muscles and tendons surrounding the knee.

·        Icing the knee by small paper cups filled with ice water is recommended by orthopedic doctors. Rubbing the ice in a circular motion also helps. Gradually the inflammation and pain go away.

Returning to sports after the treatment

Once the knee pain subsides, doctors allow young athletes to start sports activities again. Of course, they have to slow down the activities until the inflammation disappears. Activity modification is also done in a few cases.

It is a fact that the treatment varies from person to person. Predominantly, it will depend on the sport the athlete indulged into.

The critical point is, one must avoid activities that caused the problem initially. Thus, the chances of problem reoccurring will be minimized. In the first week, the athlete should work at 25 percent intensity. Gradually, it should be increased.

It will take eight to ten weeks to return to full activity level safely. The fundamental thing is that a young athlete shouldn’t stay inactive just because there is a pain in the knees.

After getting relieved from the pain, one should practice hard to gain maximum efficiency.

Idiopathic anterior knee pain is also common

It is called patella-femoral pain syndrome. Typically, it is a vague, non-specific, activity-related pain amongst adolescent athletes.

It is the most common cause of pain evaluated by sports physicians, knee replacement surgeon, and primary care physicians.

The reasons are primarily biomechanical and anatomical. Strenuous physical activities overload the patellofemoral mechanism.

These are some common causes of knee pain amongst young athletes. Doctors treat the problem on a symptomatic basis and relieve from intense pain.

Dr Shailendra Patil

knee replacement surgeon in Thane, Mulund, Navi Mumbai

Orthopedic, Joint Replacement & Arthroscopic Surgeon.

Bone And Joint Care Clinic

8369026337,02225690799