Hyperextended Knee

Knee hyperextension is one of the common knee injuries faced by athletes in sports like gymnastics, basketball and volleyball, to name a few. However, in sports the damage may be less intense than what can occur in an accident; car crash being a common one. The excessive pressure can result from any sudden or aggressive action which causes the knee to move past its normal straightened position and bend backwards. A tear in the knee ligaments is what which causes this condition. These ligaments serve as a bridge connecting the upper portion of the leg to the bottom. This tear results out of an incident wherein, the knee bends, twists or moves out of its typical range of motion. What explains the occurrence of an hyperextended knee is the simultaneous onset of two movements in the knee, which causes the tear. The information given below is a description on the different signs and symptoms of hyperextended knee and about its treatment, as well.

Hyperextended Knee Symptoms

Hyperextended knee symptoms are immediate and there might be several of them which occur right away. The bending of the knee backwards, is the first apparent symptom which may indicate that you might have hyperextended your knee. Then comes the hyperextended knee pain which may be extremely painful and grueling, particularly for severe injuries. The pain may be felt at the back and sides of the knee, and it may be accompanied by a swelling of the injured area within the few first hours of the injury. What becomes a very apparent consequence of a hyperextended knee is the person's inability to continue playing, running and perform other similar activities, due to instability or impaired motion. Walking may still be possible, but it might cause a lot of pain. In some cases, it might get difficult to diagnose if the person has actually hyperextended his/her knee. If the knee appears deformed, pain continues or if the knee gets locked in one position or does not get straightened, then there is a possibility that the patient has hyperextended his/her knee. Read more on common knee injuries.

Hyperextended Knee Treatment

The treatment lays its focus on alleviating the unnatural stress, swelling and the pain. Applying ice immediately helps in relieving the swelling and so also the pain which might be radiating throughout the leg. Not to mention, do not apply the ice directly onto the damaged area. Use towel or something similar to wrap around the ice. Thereafter, call for medical help without any haste. After getting the injury diagnosed, the patient might be given anti-inflammatory medications and recommended to use a compression bandage. If the injury is of a mild nature, then complete rest from activity and physical therapy is required for the leg to regain its lost strength and stability. Crutches, keeping the affected knee(s) in an elevated position while sitting or lying down and icing several times a day, also comprises the treatment for a hyperextended knee. For cases which doctors feel are too severe to be treated by conservative treatment methods, they are most likely to be attended by surgery. In case of a child who has suffered a hyperextended knee, doctors recommend the surgery to be performed once the child's bones have stopped growing.

Patients are also assigned some hyperextended knee exercises, to help the knee attain its normal range of motion. These exercises may include performing activities in water, use of stationary bike, muscle stretching, and probably other kinds of knee strengthening exercises, depending on what the doctor might consider best for the patients.

Hyperextended knee recovery time, may require about six to nine months. This is the time a patient must wait before returning to sports, especially if he/she has undergone a surgery. Very mild cases, may take an average of 1 - 2 weeks for recuperation, but by far it all depends upon the extent and graveness of the injury.

Swelling Behind Knee

Knee pain can affect each and every activity like sitting, standing, walking, etc. Sometimes, knee pain is experienced while sleeping also. You can easily kneel, bend or stretch your legs only when knees support these basic actions well. Besides helping in the leg movements, knees also bear the entire weight of your body. Even a mild knee pain, if left untreated, may cost you much later. Swelling behind knees is usually followed by pain. There are several causes of swelling behind knees. Some of the main causes of swelling behind knee are mentioned below.

Causes of Swelling Behind Knee

Baker's Cyst: Baker's cyst is a non-malignant growth that is usually noticed in runners and tennis players. Weakened lining of the knee joint can lead to the formation of a lump or swelling behind the knee, which may restrict leg movement. It can cause pain and discomfort to the person. Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis can especially lead to the formation of Baker's cyst, causing unbearable pain behind knee.

Chondromalacia of Patella: Chondromalacia of the patella is also called 'runner's knee'. Swelling behind knee after running, like baker's cyst can be noticed when a runner approaches forty miles per week for the first time. Over-strain may lead to swelling and pain behind knee. Even though a few day's rest is recommended, the pain may come right back. After the first few miles of the next run the swelling behind knee can be seen increased and the pain also might flair up.

Injuries: Any injury that occurs to the knee can lead to swelling behind knee joint. A fracture or tear in your meniscus or ligaments or just a minor tear of the cartilage surface can lead to pain and swelling behind knee. Trauma, injury or fracture during a sport event or accident can lead to swelling behind knees. Read more on knee pain after running.

Overuse: Leg pain behind knee is observed when the joint is overused. Strenuous or constant exercises, wrong position during exercising or during any activity, aging or any fault in structural alignment can cause swelling behind knees, resulting in mild or severe pain. Swelling behind knee after exercise is a very common complaint. If your joint is not used to an exercise pattern, it may result in swelling behind the knee.

Weakened Muscles: Sometimes, swelling behind knee can be experienced due to weakened thigh, foot or calf muscles. Other weakened muscles can create unnecessary work pressure on the knees during any activity, like knee pain when bending. If you are overweight, then this problem can be often experienced as the knees have to carry excess weight.

Other Problems: Rubbing of the knee cap against the lowermost end of the femur (thigh bone) can cause swelling behind knee cap, leading to sharp pain. Sudden change in the daily routine, any added activity or lack of exercise, vitamin deficiency, serious diseases like cancer are also among the other causes of swelling behind knee.

Swelling Behind Knee: Treatment

    * If you are overweight, losing weight is the first requirement for avoiding knee problems. Regular exercises and balanced diet can help reduce the weight.
    * Arthritic patients also need to perform regular knee exercises under the guidance of a physician or physical trainer.
    * Regular runners should use perfect fitting shoes along with knee braces or additional arch support in the shoes, etc.
    * Baker cyst in rare cases requires removal of excess knee fluid in conjunction with cortisone injection. Doctor may prescribe medications to relieve pain and inflammation. Mostly, Baker’s cyst heals on its own and no special treatment is required.
    * For mild swelling or pain, you may opt for over the counter anti inflammatory medicines or pain killers. You can apply ice packs or hot packs, ointments, balms, etc. which can help reduce the pain and swelling behind knee.
    * When pain or swelling behind knee is noticed, you should provide sufficient rest to the joint. You should avoid rigorous physical activities which might lead to increased pressure on knees. Read more on leg exercises for bad knees.
    * If Baker's cyst is associated with cartilage tears or other internal knee problems then surgery can be the best treatment option. During the surgery, the surgeon can remove the swollen tissue (synovium) that is responsible for the cyst formation.

I hope you find the above information about swelling behind knee helpful. I hope, this article guides you to take necessary precautions while exercising or while performing daily activities. The most important thing is that you should consult your doctor about any knee problem if it is not resolved with the help of simple home remedies.

Unhappy Triad Injury

Knee is the largest joint in a human body. It comprises of femur (lower end of thighbone) and a knee cap (patella) which fits into the groove perfectly on one end of femur through a sliding mechanism. A knee also contains ligaments which aid in controlling motion by bracing joints against abnormal types of motion. Between the femur and the tibia (upper end of shinbone), there is a structure known as meniscus. This structure is constituted of soft cartilage between femur and tibia and absorbs any shock during leg movements. So when there is an injury to knee, a sudden knee pain is bound to be felt.

A torn ligament in knee could be one of the knee pain causes. However, when three structures of the knee, ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), MCL (medial collateral ligament) and medial meniscus get affected by an external injury, the term coined for such a condition is unhappy triad injury. Let's understand the causes for this unhappy triad knee injury.

What is the Unhappy Triad Injury?
The unhappy triad injury is an aggregation of three types of knee injuries that are explained below. Since this knee injury involves a meniscus tear, an ACL tear and an MCL tear, the name unhappy triad is given to it. Let's understand each of these injuries in detail.

ACL Tear: The anterior cruciate ligament tear is very painful and the most crucial of all knee injuries. This ligament helps in balancing of legs. When there is an ACL tear, the person might experience a knee pain and inability to walk properly (occasionally buckling away).

Meniscus Tear: The second of the unhappy triad, meniscus tear involves tearing of the fibrocartilage in the knee joint, thereby reducing the resistance of the knees (since meniscus aids in cushioning the knee bone and reducing friction in bones). Medial meniscus tear can cause inflammation in the knee causing meniscus pain. Some popping sensations can also be felt in the knee.

MCL Tear: The unhappy triad is completed by the tear of the medial collateral ligament which runs along the inside of the knee. This ligament is responsible for providing stability to the knee joint. Symptoms of pain, decreased range of motion and instability indicate an MCL tear.

What Causes the Unhappy Triad?
The unhappy triad knee injury is an outcome of stressful and rigorous sports activities like football and rugby. When a blow is inflicted on the outside of the knee of an athlete (who is in stance position with feet on ground), chances of this unhappy triad injury are maximum. The ACL tear and meniscus tear can occur simultaneously during a plant and turn movement in the game. When the knee, after the first injury continues to move along the same path. The ACL tears further causing the knee to shift. Consequently, the femur and tibia compress against the meniscus causing the soft fibrocartilage to tear. And an external blow on the same spot adds to the MCL tear.

Prominent symptoms felt post unhappy triad injury are swelling in the knee with a bruise around it, severe knee pain, instability (this happens as tibia and femur slide against each other) and rupture in the triad ligaments.

Unhappy Triad Injury Treatment
The most painful part of the unhappy triad injury is the ACL tear. It can be treated only with surgery. A person having undergone this injury can take even months to recuperate completely. Reconstructing the ACL is the primary goal in the surgery after which the MCL tear and meniscus tear gradually start to heal. The unhappy triad recovery time can range between 6-9 months depending on the seriousness of the injury. Post surgery, knee braces can be used for prophylactic reasons. Many athletes use knee braces for running. This will reduce the probabilities of occurrence of this injury.

Unhappy triad injury is definitely a painful condition for players. But with a lot of surgical treatments and proper knee care, such conditions do recover quite fast. So next time, when indulging in physically engaging sport activities, if there is a sharp knee pain and instability felt while walking, do not ignore the symptoms! Check with the doctor at the earliest! Hope this article, on unhappy triad knee injury, was informative!

Knee Pain Exercises Especially for Women

A young lady in a baseball uniform recently came to see me in the emergency room. She had pain in her knees that had been increasing over the last few weeks. It had gotten to the point that she was actually limping. What to do?

A brief exam and a couple of x-rays later and we knew what the problem was. There was inflammation of the joint between the knee cap (patella) and the knee (distal femur).

Many women suffer from the same ailment. The reason is that because of the wider pelvis that women have, the muscles of the thigh tend to pull the knee cap off to the side. The result is that it gets increasingly inflamed and painful.

The pain from this type of problem is normally just in the front of the knee. It will be painful to straighten out your leg when you are sitting. It will be tender on the side of the knee cap.

If you have this problem, the good news is that normally you can completely relieve your pain with a few simple exercises.

The goal of these exercises is to strengthen the mucles of the front of the thigh (quadriceps muscle) that will pull the knee cap straight.

To strenghten the quadriceps, simply lie down on your bed and do straight leg raises. Don't bend the knee. It is already inflamed and you don't need to make that worse. Just repeatedly raise your leg. This will strengthen the quadriceps.

If you get a bit tired from doing this ten times, just keep doing it. But, if you are in pretty good shape already and this does not make you tired at all, it is time to step things up a bit.

When you are ready, the next step is to do the same exercise with weights. To do this just get an old purse and put a can of food in it and repeat the straight leg raises. Pretty easy eh? As you get stronger, gradually increase the weight in the old purse.

During this time, if you can take them, a good anti-inflammatory medications such as Ibuprofen will help get rid of the inflammation and aleviate the pain you are having in your knee.

However, by doing these exercises regularly, you should not need to use the medication for more than a few days.

Physiotherapy Exercises for Muscle Injuries

Physiotherapy exercises to do at home are great for minor muscle injuries. I've had my (un)fair share of injuries, building up a wealth of unfortunate experience with these exercises. The most commonly injured body parts are the knee and back, so I'll focus on them.

Physiotherapists (physical therapists) are usually very busy. If your injury isn't major, you may have to wait weeks to be seen.

In that time you could develop stiffness and lose muscle tone, making the injury worse and prolonging your recovery. Doing these simple physiotherapy exercises helps keep the muscles moving.

You probably already have some sort of pain from the injury, which you'll have to monitor. There are two types of pain you need to watch out for:

Pain due to stiffness. Bearable during your physiotherapy exercises, eases off soon after. This type of pain is OK to carry on.

Pain due to damage. Unbearable at any point, won't ease for several days. Stop any exercise immediately. Your muscles aren't ready for exercise yet. Continue with R.I.C.E.

The best course of action when doing physiotherapy exercises is to write a plan. Record the pain response after each exercise. Either increase or decrease the amount of exercises you do, depending on how bad the pain was.

Your muscles are in a delicate state, so really focus on the quality of each movement. Go slow and steady, visualizing the muscle as you exercise.

Physiotherapy exercises for your back:

1. Lie on your back, both knees bent (feet flat on floor). Tilt hips backward and slightly arch your back. The first movement leads to the second, don't force the arching. Relax, then tilt hips forward, keeping your bottom on the floor. Your lower back will push into the floor.

2. Lie on your back, both legs straight. Bend your left knee up towards your chest, holding your thigh or the top of the knee. Hold the stretch for 10 seconds, slowly relax. Repeat with right knee.

3. Lie on your front, chin resting on the floor. Bend your arms with hands resting beside your head, palms on the floor and elbows tucked in to your body. Look straight ahead and slowly lift your head up, keep your hips on the floor so that your back arches. Let your arms take the weight. Relax back down slowly.

4. Stand up, arms by your side. Bend down to the right, sliding your right hand down your leg. Come back up slowly and relax. Repeat on your left side.

Physiotherapy exercises for your knee:

1. Sit on the floor, legs straight out in front of you. Place your left hand under your left knee. Contract your quads so your knee pushes down on your hand (lifting your heel into the air). Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat with your right knee.

2. If the above exercise is too hard, then start off with a folded pillow under your knee (slightly bent). Lift your heel up as before, keeping your knee on the pillow.

3. Lie flat on your front with both legs straight. Slowly bend your left knee as much as possible. Hold for 5 seconds. Slowly straighten the knee returning to the start position. Repeat with your right knee.

4. Lie on your back. One knee bent up (foot flat on floor), the other straight. Lift the straight leg up (about 1 foot). Hold for 5 seconds. Repeat with the other leg.

These physiotherapy exercises should be used with professional care, or as preventative measures. If you're in pain from an injury, please see your doctor first.

If you're not injured, you can still do these physiotherapy exercises. Prevent common injuries in certain parts of your body. Add the specific exercise to your normal workout at least once a week.

Be pro-active with your recovery, quickly return to a pain-free active life.

Please visit here to see more physiotherapy exercises for your foot, knee, back, shoulder and neck. You'll also find more advice about the types of pain.

From the author and creator of this website dedicated to helping you be happy and healthy. Find exercise, diet and equipment tips. With added focus on pilates, swimming and physiotherapy advice.

Exercises for Knee Pain - 2 Simple Effective Exercises To Ease Pain On Your Knee

Exercises for Knee Pain are always recommended by doctors to help ease the pain and strengthen the knee. These poor parts of our body spend their entire lives bearing our weight, walking, running, skipping, jumping, turning, twisting and so many more actions. Is it any wonder then that it cracks up sometimes! This is the largest joint in the body and the most complicated, but probably the most at risk as well.

The causes for knee pain are truly varied and stem from injury, arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis, gout and other conditions that are more complicated in nature. When you tear a ligament or cartilage, it can give rise to pain to this largest joint and these injuries may require surgery.

It is universally agreed that exercises for knee pain are parts of the cure and we will look at some of the exercises that can be done to strengthen this part of our body.

The one thing you should never overlook is a warm up before beginning your exercise routine. This can be just 5 minutes of low impact aerobics like walking to increase the blood supply to the muscles and remove stiffness.

These are 2 simple effective exercises for knee pain that can you do:

Quads strengthening leg lifts- lie flat on your back, and bend your left knee at a 90 degrees angle. The foot should be flat on the floor. With right leg straight, raise it to the height of your left one, and hold for a count of 3. Repeat it 10 times and then change legs and repeat it again as before.

Hamstring strengthening curls - lie on your stomach, and put your left foot on the back of your right heel. The idea is to pull the heel to your buttocks and your left leg will resist. Hold for a count of 10 for contracting your hamstrings. Repeat 10 times with each leg.

If you do these 2 things persistently, I think you will gain result. However, it’s necessary if you also support your knee with the specific supplement to repair the damage faster. One of the best supplements for joint health will be Wobenzyme. This natural pain reliever seems to address the pain itself and speed up the recovery process.

How to Strengthen Knees

Our knees are perhaps, one of the most used body parts. We use them when we walk, run, climb stairs, indulge in sports, basically for carrying on all the physical activities. Due to this regular wear and tear, our knees become very prone to injuries, often resulting in knee pain. That's why, it becomes important that we take certain measures to maintain their health. So, for all those people, whether exercisers, non-exercisers, runners or sports persons, who want to know, "how to strengthen knees?", given below are some effective knee exercises to maintain the health, flexibility and balance of knees.

Tips on How to Strengthen Knees

In order to avoid injuries to the knees, make sure that you wear good quality shoes. Also, start with warming-up your leg and knee muscles and then move onto the knee exercises in order to avoid injuries. As a warm-up, simply walk for about five to ten minutes.

Knee Stretches
For those wondering, "how to strengthen your knees?", this exercise is most suitable. Sit on a chair and keep your back straight. Next, keeping your one foot firmly on the ground and bending your other knee, bring your leg as near to your upper body as you can. Remain in this position for about ten seconds and then lower your leg. Repeat this exercise ten times on both the legs.

Knee Bends
Another of the effective knee strengthening exercises is knee bends. To perform this exercise, lie down on your stomach on an exercise mat. Next, keeping your one leg straight, bend your other leg from behind the knee and try to touch your hips with your foot. If you are feeling a tightening in your quadriceps, it means that you are performing knee bends correctly. Hold on for five seconds and then come back to the starting position. Repeat this exercise for knee pain ten times on both legs.

Quadriceps Stretches
For those who are thinking, "how to strengthen knee ligaments?", this exercise is the solution. To perform this exercise, sit straight on a chair. Now, extend the legs in such a way that your heels touch the ground. Make sure that your knees are straight in this position. Next, tighten your thigh muscles and remain in this position for ten seconds. Relax and then repeat the same. Do this exercise ten times.

Knee Circling
One of the most useful of exercises to strengthen knees is knee circling. To do this exercise, stand straight. Next, bend your knees and take a position as if you are squatting in the air. Cup your kneecaps with your hands and start circling your knees clockwise. When you do this exercise, make sure that your toes and feet do not move at all. Repeat clockwise circling and anti-clockwise circling on both knees ten times.

Squats
Squats are very effective in strengthening the knee muscles. To perform this exercise, stand straight with your feet at shoulder width distance. Next, lower your hips as if you are going to sit on a chair. At any point of time, while lowering your hips, your knees should not come as forward as your toes. Hold on this squat position for ten seconds and then, placing your weight on your heels, stand straight. Do ten repetitions of this exercise.

Leg Raises
If you want to know, "how to strengthen knees for running?", the answer lies in leg raises. To perform this exercise, lie on your back on an exercise mat. Bend and lift your left knee, placing your left foot flat on the ground. Next, keeping your right knee straight, lift your right leg off the ground, about six inches. Hold on for a few seconds and then bring it back to the ground. Again raise the right leg in the same manner, however this time it should be slightly more than six inches away from the ground. Repeat this knee exercise for runners, ten times on both legs.

Here's hoping that now you know how to strengthen knees. Along with these exercises, taking a healthy diet is important too as it fastens the tissue repair and healing. So, eat lots of fruits, vegetables and dairy products like milk, yogurt and cheese every day. Vitamin C and vitamin E are especially known to aid in the healing of joints so take vitamin C rich foods like oranges, pineapples and grapefruits as well as vitamin E rich foods like peanuts, mango, spinach and broccoli, a part of your everyday diet. A combination of the knee exercises given above and a well balanced diet, will ensure that your knees remain healthy, strong and flexible.

Knee Strengthening Exercises for Torn Meniscus

A tear in the meniscus, simply put, is when there is a tear in the cartilage of the knee. This occurrence is oft seen when there is a sudden stop and jerking action applied to that area. Stopping suddenly on the spot while in full motion or jerking and twisting the part can lead to a tear in the meniscus and lead to a lot of knee pain and agony. A meniscus tear is a common occurrence in athletes who make a lot of use of their knees, but it can affect any of us if there is ever an occurrence that involves applying a sudden jerk to the knees like an accident or a fall. That is why knee strengthening exercises, and in particular knee strengthening exercises for torn meniscus become extremely important so that you do not cause further harm to the knee and help it to recuperate faster by aiding it through exercises. In the following article we will look into some of the most effective knee strengthening exercises that there are.

Meniscus Knee Strengthening Exercises

It becomes important that you take immediate steps when it comes to a torn meniscus and a sore knee or else the pain will just build up and the injury might turn into a permanent one. In order to avoid that, try doing some of the knee strengthening exercises for torn meniscus and help it recover faster. Here are some of the basic knee exercises for torn meniscus given below.

Knee Circles
This knee exercise is a light one as it should be after an injury, because you should not be putting any pressure on it in any way initially. Take it slow and make sure that there is no pain while doing them. Here's how you go about it:

   1. Stand with your feet together and bend your knees so that they do not cross the toes. Cover your kneecaps with your palms and keep your peripheral vision to the ground.
   2. With a slow, gentle motion, move your knees in a circle. First in the clockwise direction and then in the opposite direction.
   3. Make absolutely sure that the circles are not too wide.
   4. Do about 20-30 circles in both directions.

Chair Balance
This simple exercise to strengthen knees allows for building strength in the knees and thighs, such that it can support the knees better. Here is how you go about it:

   1. Take a sturdy chair and place it firmly against the ground.
   2. Now stand behind it and place both your hands on it.
   3. Lift one leg and keep it suspended so that the weight is on the other foot.
   4. Make sure that there is no pressure though. If you feel any pain, you should stop immediately.
   5. Stand in this position for a count of 15 and then shift legs to repeat on the other side.
   6. When you start feeling that you're regaining your strength, try and place only one hand on the chair, while the other is placed on your waist.

Leg Curls
This is one other effective knee and leg exercise that'll help to regain the strength once again and help you recuperate:

   1. Sleep on your stomach with your legs extended straight out.
   2. Now bend your knees and try to get them as far back as possible.
   3. Hold for a count of 15 and lower.
   4. You can add ankle weights to introduce intensity to the exercise.

Straight Leg Raises
This knee pain exercise will help in strengthening both the knees and the thighs. Here is how you go about it:

   1. Lie on your back with your legs extended straight out.
   2. Now bend one leg at the knee while the other one remains straight.
   3. Slowly lift the leg (which is not bent) from the hips into the air.
   4. The leg should be about 5 inches above the ground. The lower to the ground, the better.
   5. Hold for 6-8 seconds and slowly lower it.
   6. Alternate the leg and repeat on both sides 10 times.

All these are simple knee strengthening exercises that will not exert the knee in any way. When you feel like the strength of the knee has regained a little, you can move on to the more intense exercises like squats, hamstring curls, lunges and leg extensions.

These were some of the knee strengthening exercises for torn meniscus that you can start including in your routine as soon as possible. This will allow for the knees to regain their flexibility and strength and thereby be able to carry forth all the normal actions and sports activities without any hindrance.