Why do teenagers have knee pain?

Although knee pain is common in middle-aged and elderly people, with knee osteoarthritis being the most common. However, pain in the front of the knee in adolescents is also common in clinical medicine, and the causes of pain in the front of the knee in adolescents are complex, and clinical medical diagnosis has a certain degree of difficulty. So, why do adolescents have knee pain?

Originating from hip disease in the same direction

For an adolescent patient with pain in the front of the knee, the first thing to do is to eliminate the hip disease of the affected limb. Because of the manipulation of the lumbar plexus, hip disease sometimes involves leg pain. Therefore, the hip needs to be checked after the routine knee examination. Usually, the hip movement is restricted and the patient's hip is prohibited from movement.

Common hip conditions that cause knee pain include:

(1) Dislocation of the femoral head is more common in obese children. X-ray examination of the hip joint can confirm the diagnosis. The main treatment is fixation with hollow nails at the origin. Different treatment methods can be selected according to the condition.

(2) Transient hip synovitis is more common in young children and adolescents. X-ray examinations generally show no significant abnormalities. Hip B-ultrasound examination is helpful for diagnosis, as it can reveal blood accumulation in the joint and thickening of the synovium. However, this disease should be distinguished from purulent hip arthritis.

Knee cap disease

Knee cap diseases include:

(1) Synovial wrinkle syndrome

The synovial folds are residual tissues that have not completely atrophied during the IVF stage. The residual synovial folds themselves are not likely to cause disease.

Part of the synovial fold reaches the middle of the femoral head condyle and patella, and suffers repeated damage, resulting in inflammatory mediators, hyperplasia, and pain. Conservative treatment is usually ineffective and prone to relapse. Under knee arthroscopy, synovial fold removal is effective and repairs quickly.

(2) Fat pad inflammation

The fat pad is located behind the patellar tendon and has the functions of padding, moisturizing and absorbing fat. If it is repeatedly damaged, fat bleeding, edema, hypertrophy and atrophy will occur, resulting in fat pad inflammation.

(3) Osteochondrosis of the tibia

It is more common in adolescents who love to exercise excessively. The disease occurs because the patellar tendon repeatedly stretches the tibial tuberosity epiphyseal line excessively, which increases the support force of this point and causes edema.

The key to diagnosis is to rely on medical history, physical examination and X-ray examination. X-rays show that the relative density of the tibia tuberosity is increased and the edges are blurred. Treatment is mainly based on rest and reducing intense activities, which generally can achieve good practical results. If the pain is more severe, hormone drugs can be injected locally.

(4) Prepatellar bursitis

Because of repeated friction, compression and trauma, the pain is localized and located in front of the patella, with partial swelling and tenderness, making it relatively easy to diagnose.

(5) Refractory anterior knee pain in adolescents and children

For adolescent patients with anterior knee pain, after eliminating the above various symptoms and possible causes of anterior knee pain, it can be considered as refractory anterior knee pain in adolescents.

The pain points of this disease are located at the lower pole of the patella, the patellar tendon, and the medial patellar bands. Generally, the symptoms occur on both sides, with one side being more severe than the other. Knee X-rays and MRI examinations may reveal no abnormal signals. The treatments for this disease include rest, quadriceps rehabilitation training, massage, etc., and the prognosis is generally good.