Swollen Knee: Causes and Treatments

Swelling in the knee can be caused by a variety of issues that includes arthritis, injury, and any other medical condition. Most of the swollen knees caused by minor injury can be treated with home remedies. While on the other hand, some require proper diagnosis, treatment, and care instruction from a doctor. Generally, swollen knees take time to get better and need longer treatment. Some physicians recommend wearing cryo cuff knee or knee braces for better recovery post-injury and surgery. When your knee gets injured, it gets swollen because of inflammation and deposition of fluid around that area. The deposited fluid makes it puffier and larger if not treated. 

Inflammation in the knee can be of majorly three types: edema, effusion, hemarthrosis. Each of them causes swelling in the knee but in a different manner. Edema causes swelling around the joint tissues, whereas due to effusion, there is swelling inside the knee joint and hemarthrosis buildup blood in the joint, which results in a swollen knee. Depending on the circumstances, the swelling on the knee can be acute or chronic, and both need proper supervision and treatment.

Signs and symptoms of acute inflammation in the knee:

• Partial or full impaired function
• Sensation of heat
• Increasing redness and swelling
• Excessive pain 

Causes Of Swollen Knee

• Bursitis

When fluid sacs in the knee become inflamed, it causes bursitis. Also known as bursae, which causes puffiness and swelling in the knee. If bursitis remains untreated for prolonged periods, it causes pressure in the legs too that causes pain. According to researchers, the most common reason behind the bursae is blunt force trauma or frequent kneeling. It is diagnosed by an X-ray or MRI scan and then seeing the results, the doctor will recommend the treatment, which might include:

• Ice Compression
• Elevating the knee
• Proper rest
• Taking anti-inflammatory medications for pain relief.

• Arthritis

Another cause of swollen knee is Arthritis, which is a cause of underlying chronic inflammation. The person having Arthritis might experience chronic pain and swelling in the knee. Numerous home treatments are there for treating knee osteoarthritis. If you go to see a doctor, he/she can also prescribe medical treatments, such as physical therapy, anti-inflammatory drugs, and perform therapeutic injections. The treatment of patient depends upon their condition but might include the following:

• pain relief medication
• lifestyle changes
• physical therapy
• Antirheumatic drugs
• assistive devices or braces, such as cryo cuff knee 
• surgery

• Injury

Injury to the knee’s bones, ligaments, tendons, bursae, meniscus, or articular cartilage can cause trauma, which leads to pain and swelling.  When someone badly injured their knee, it can cause blood to flow into the knee joint. This blood entering the knee joint leads to swelling, bruising, warmth, and stiffness. This condition is known as hemarthrosis, which needs urgent medical care. Common injuries to the knee include ligaments or muscle sprains surrounding the knee from a sudden twist, turn, or hit and tendonitis from overuse of a tendon or joint. When you a physician, your treatment might involve the following:

• Bed rest
• using braces(Cryo Cuff Knee)
• taking anti-inflammatory medicines
• receiving physical or occupational therapy
• undergoing surgery

Some home remedies to cure swollen knee at home, a person could try:

• elevating the affected knee and keeping it straight.
• massaging the affected area around the knee
• Ice compression for about 20 minutes twice a day.
• Knee Exercises for building muscle strength. 
• using a band or compression sleeve or cryo cuff Knee.
• taking anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen

In Final Words

The swollen knee may result from an injury underlying health issues, such as arthritis or bursitis. Several home care procedures can reduce swelling, such as anti-inflammatory gels, creams, medicines, and ice compressions.

However, if a person speculates that the swelling is due to an underlying condition, it is essential to receive medical care.