When to see your doctor?
Although most cases of knee pain are benign and can heal on their own, there are some red flags that you should look for and they include:
- Knee pain that is associated with a mass: Although most masses associated with knee pain are those of the surrounding inflamed bursae -plural of bursa-, a mass associated with knee pain or tenderness should alert you to visit your physician.
- Knee pain that is associated with an open wound: If you injured yourself and an open wound is present, visiting your doctor is a must to receive adequate wound care and avoid the complications of joint infection.
- If it lasts for a long time: Usual inflammatory joint pain should resolve within a week or two. If it lasts for more, then it is unlikely to resolve on its own and a doctor’s consultation is a must.
- If multiple joints are affected: This is especially true if you are a female in your twenties to forties since it is the age of autoimmune diseases. Visiting a doctor when you feel pain in multiple joints, particularly the small joints of your hands and feet can help diagnose and manage the condition as early as possible.
- If your knee is giving way or locking: Those symptoms are of ligament or meniscal tears, and adequate medical treatment is a must in these cases to avoid chronic injury which is much harder to treat.
- If you develop fever: Fever is a sign of systemic inflammation, and if you develop a fever with your knee pain, it can be a sign of infective arthritis. The other possibility is that it might be a part of an autoimmune condition. Both cases need professional medical care.
- If you have severe bruising: Bruising is a common finding in knee pain. It is usually due to the trauma that caused knee pain in the first place. However, severe bruising can mean that a more severe injury has occurred and bleeding within the joint or bone fracture is likely.