San José, Costa Rica. April, 2014.

Our knees are an important point of support when we do almost any type of exercise. For this reason, adequate care should be taken to protect them is recommended.

For some people knee pain or some type of irritation is very common that after playing sport, but what is the cause of this?

According to Doctor Orlando Daly Mullins of the Clinica Biblica Hospital, various causes of knee pain can be identified: direct trauma, stress fractures, tendinitis, chondromalacia, synovitis and bursitis, torn muscles close to the knee, rupture of structures such as the meniscus or ligaments, or diseases such as gout, inflammatory arthritis, arthrosis or tumors.

Before beginning to play sport, a good warm-up and stretching routine is recommended. Some sports known to be high impact such as football, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and running, all of which produce shocks to the joints.

Dr. Daly recommends that “any type of physical activity should begin as low intensity and then increase little by little. If you begin suddenly, some type of injury can be produced, which could be very painful.”

The joints age along with the body, and this is why it is necessary to be more cautious as we age. The most common knee injuries both for adults, teens and children are tendon inflammations and injuries to the meniscus. Children are more flexible than adults, which helps to protect them, but they may still suffer knee pain on the patella tendon insertion point along the growth line.

Some recommendations made by Doctor Daly for knee pain sufferers are to first place ice on the knee for 15 minutes and take an analgesic. If there is no improvement within 24 to 48 hours, consult your doctor. It is not recommended to seek assistance from informal ‘massage therapists’ such as those known in Costa Rica as “sobadores” in case of an undiagnosed injury, because this may aggravate what might have been a simple injury.

For more information or appointments, call 2522-1000 or write to citas@clinicabiblica.com