The Knee Flashcards
What red flags to look out for when assessing the knee?
Osteosarcoma
Loosening/infection of knee arthroplasty
Acute locked knee
Spontaneous Osteonecrosis of the knee
Popliteal aneurysm
Red flag: Osteosarcoma (S+S)
- Bone pain/pain around joint
- Constant or more severity at night
- Swelling/mass/deformity
- Stiffness
- Fatigue
Red flag: Loosening/infection of the Knee arthroplasty
- Red, hot swollen joint/wound
- Feeling generally unwell- fever, chills, night sweats
- Pus/fluid from incision
- Signs of sepsis
- Fatigue
- New onset of knee pain/stiffness
- Feeling of instability
Red flag: Acute Locked Knee (S+S)
- History of trauma/injury
- Knee blocked to full extension
- Effusion
- Joint line tenderness
Red flag: Spontaneous Osteonecrosis of the knee
- Sudden onset of severe knee pain
- Effusion
- Loss of ROM
- Most commonly affects medial condyle
- Tenderness along joint line
- Pain at night and on weight bearing
Red flag: Popliteal Aneurysm (S+S)
- Pulsatile mass in the back of the knee
- Pale
- Pain
- Pallor
- Paraesthesia
- Pedal pulses - reduced/absent
- Blue toes
OA of the knee: pathophysiology and risk factors
The most common knee pathology to affect the older pop
Females are most likely affected
- A pathology which occurs as a result of a multiple factors which lead to synovial joint degradation.
Can be idiopathic or secondary
Risks:
- Age
- Obesity
- Gender
- Repetitive stress
Signs and symptoms of OA of the knee
- Global anterior pain as well as joint line pain
- Early morning stiffness or after prolonged rest which resolves within 30 mins
- Swelling
- Crepitus
- Restriction to flexion and extension with or without pain
- Aggr: walking, squatting, stairs, bending
Management of knee OA
- Education, self and symptom management
- Advise of lifestyle modifications
- Direct to GP
- Physio: manual therapy, mobility, strengthening, proprioception
- CSI
No improvement: surgery
Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS): pathophysiology
Umbrella term that is used to describe conditions that cause pain from the patellofemoral joint.
Unclear underlying pathology but theories: malalignment, increased Q-angle, tightness of hip and thigh, patella alta
Risk factors for Knee pain
- Increased age
- Overweight
- Social deprivation
- Hx of injury
- Participation in sport involving high impact
- Knee straining work
Signs and symptoms of Patellafemoral pain syndrome
- Worsens with activity which increase load on the patellofemoral joint (squatting, sitting, climbing stairs, kneeling and running)
- Anterior pain ‘underside of patella’
- Feeling of giving way and crepitus
On examination: - Abnormal patella positions
- Occasional swelling
- AROM is usually maintained but can be stiff
What are the grades for ligamentous injuries?
Grade 1= damage to only a minimal number of ligamentous fibres.
Which can produce local tenderness but no instability or laxity apparent within the ligament
Grade 2= partial tears. More ligamentous fibres are damaged than in grade 1.
These tears causing slight to moderate loss of normal motion in the ligament
Grade 3= complete tear or rupture of the ligament.
Significant disruption of the fibres causing a noticeable instability at the joint
ACL injury: pathophysiology and mechanism
Injury to the ACL which is responsible for preventing anterior translation of the tibia on the femur and preventing hyperextension
Common mechanism: sudden deceleration combined with a change of direction in a fixed foot position
Mention grades of ligament injury
Signs and symptoms of ACL injury
- Patients describe a sudden, painful popping sensation which is followed by a significant rapid onset of swelling
-ACL injuries can occur with interal injuries e.g medial meniscal and medial collateral ligament injury- ‘unhappy triad’
-Describe ‘giving way
On examination: - Significant swelling if recent
- Knee AROM can be restricted but not always
- Tenderness apparent on lateral knee with some joint line tenderness
- Muscle weakness in lower limb