When your knee hurts, it can make life much harder to live. Knee pain when bending will strike anytime you sit, standing, kneel, lunge, or squat you feel intense pain in your knee that you wish was not there. As an athlete, this is compounded by the fact that no real athletic movements can be made without bending your knees meaning that sports and everyday living become difficult. We are going to go over the causes and treatment of knee pain when bent so you can get back to the sports you love.
Causes of Knee Pain When Bending
The Patellar Tendon
When the patellar tendon is sore is contributing to your knee pain when bending, it is what most people call jumpers knee. The reason the patellar starts having issues is that it is overworked. If you are jumping or pushing off your legs with a lot of force, the patellar could get overworked.
Another common cause of patellar pain is tight quad muscles. If the quads are tight, the patellar tendon is under more tension. Quads become tight due to the same reason that a tendon becomes overworked. If you are jumping a lot, it is a lot of quad tendon.
Patellar Tendon Pain is The Result of:
- Quad dominance
- Too much jumping
- Too much running
- Quad tightness
Knee Pain When Bent and The Meniscus
When you suffer a meniscus injury, it means that you run the risk of bone to bone grinding between the femur and tibia. The meniscus is the soft padding between these bones. These injuries can be acute or chronic. The chronic injuries are from wear and tear over time that slowly wears the meniscus down. These injuries can also be acute, from one movement that just was not right that damages the knee.
When the meniscus is involved, you need to see a health care provider to have surgery or for a maintenance plan. We will talk more about how to go about doing this a bit later. The key thing to know now is that if you are experiencing knee pain when bending, it can be serious if you do not take care of t properly.
Chondromalacia – and How It Plays into the injury
This condition is also known as “runners knee,” and it occurs when the cartilage on the underside of the kneecap wears down causing the horrible bone to bone pain no one wants. Like having meniscus issues, you need to see a healthcare provider if you’re going to deal with this injury. There are different grades of the injury which will dictate the best treatment options.
Chondromalacia (From knee pain when bent) is the Result of:
- poor alignment
- Weak hamstrings an quads to hold everything in place
- Muscle imbalance with adductors
- A lot of stress on knees
- Trauma to the kneecap
- Flat feet
- People with arthritis develop this condition quicker
Prevention
Quad Self Treatment
There are a few options for things you can do on your own to help with knee pain when bending. The problem with the self-care route is that you need to be sure you know what you are dealing with. Patellar tendinitis for examples is much easier to deal with on your own compared to the other causes. The goal of the following exercises is to lengthen and loosen the quad.
Leg Muscles Balance Exercises Recovery
Most athletes are quad dominant only because our everyday life requires much more quad use compared to the hamstrings. Secondly, for athletes that life weights there is much more focus on exercises that work the quads to the hamstrings. Strengthening the hamstrings can bring the balance that your knees crave.
Knee Pad Use for Protection
If you spend any amount of time on your knees on a regular basis, one of the easiest ways to prevent knee issues is to get your hands on a solid pair of knee pads. Knee pads will save your knees from the everyday wear and tear of being on them for a long time.
Importance of Orthotics
If you walk around the block, you may be able to get store-bought orthotics, but any athlete is going to need to see a healthcare provider. What the orthotics will do is put someone with flat feet in the proper positions to reduce injuries to the knees, feet, and lower leg.
Finding The Right Healthcare Provider to Help Knee Pain When Bending
The last option and the best option regarding producing a positive result is to see the right healthcare provider. Seeing the right person will save you money in the long run and it will give you the peace of mind of being healthy again. To have known more knee pain when bent means that you can get back to your life.
The mistake too many athletes make is trying to do everything on their own or without the proper help. When it comes to your knees, this can be solved with some simple treatments if you get on the pain early. Every day you wait you could potentially be doing irreversible damage.
If you need help finding a good health care provider, 9INE POINT Health can help you. 9INE POINT Health will connect you with the healthcare provider you need to get healthy. If you know what you are looking for our database will make your life easy, if you don’t know what you’re looking for, we will guide you to the right person.
9INE POINT Health was created by 9INE POINT in '19 as a means to provide athlete-driven resources to "Protect Athletes' Minds, Body and Belly". As well as be a platform for healthcare providers and other specialists to display their knowledge.
