Types of Knee Pain

Knee pain is grouped by cause, location and how long it lasts.

By duration

• Acute: sudden, often after injury, infection or gout
• Chronic: lasting more than 6 weeks, often from arthritis or overuse

By cause

• Degenerative: osteoarthritis
• Injury-related: ligament tears, meniscus tears, fractures, dislocation
• Overuse: tendinitis, bursitis, iliotibial band syndrome, patellofemoral pain
• Inflammatory: rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, spondyloarthritis
• Crystal-related: gout and pseudogout
• Infectious: septic arthritis and tuberculosis
• Referred pain: from the hip or back

By location

• Front of the knee: kneecap pain, patellar tendon problems
• Inner side: MCL injury, medial meniscus, pes anserine bursitis
• Outer side: LCL injury, lateral meniscus, iliotibial band syndrome
• Back of the knee: Baker's cyst, hamstring strain, and rarely a clot

By age

• Teenagers: Osgood-Schlatter disease and patellofemoral pain
• Young adults: sport injuries
• Older adults: osteoarthritis and gout

Ayurvedic grouping

Ayurveda describes janu sandhigata vata for degenerative knee pain and amavata or vatarakta for inflamed, swollen knees. These are traditional categories and loosely match modern ones.

Key point

Where the pain is and how it started help point to the likely type.

Before your appointment

Note when the knee pain began, where it hurts, and whether there was a fall or twist. Describe swelling, stiffness, locking, giving way, clicking and what makes it better or worse. List all medicines, painkillers, supplements and herbal products. Mention fever, other joint pain, gout and past knee problems. Bring earlier X-rays or reports and your usual shoes. Ask about tests, exercise, safe pain relief and when surgery is considered. Seek urgent care for a hot swollen knee with fever or inability to bear weight, or call 112 for severe symptoms.