Your wait for the complete guide on how to cure a swollen knee using home remedies is over.Swollen knees, as we all know, can be a big trouble if not taken care of.
This problem persists in all age groups from kids to adults and may result in severe outcomes like the joint replacement.
There is no particular reason of swollen knees; it may be a hit which occurs accidentally or any athletic injury. But before I get into the details of anything let me explain what swelling is.
When your knee feels warm, appears a little reddish grows in size i.e. to large and pains then you should know that you have a swollen knee. A swollen knee becomes rigid and tight and is hard to bend.
Not only accidents there can also be other causes to swollen knees which include arthritis, obesity, pregnancy, menopause, dehydration, knee injury, hypothyroidism, gout, strain during exercise, insect bite, etc. On the whole, it may be the result of trauma, overuse injuries or a disease.
A swollen knee problem may also be referred to as ‘water on the knee’ by many people; I’ll tell you why.
The swollen knee is the accumulation of excess fluid in or around the joint, which is why it is referred to as water on the knee.
Doctors term this condition as an effusion.Swelling may be short term i.e. acute or may last for a longer period i.e. chronic. For treatment of this disease it is important to know what is causing it.
And to understand its cause, it is important to understand the structure of your knee. The knee consists of a joint capsule which works like a sac surrounding the whole joint.
Just like the oil in your car, the capsule has a synovial fluid which helps in the smooth movement of the joint by lubricating it.
When this fluid becomes more than required the knee swells!! The doctor takes the sample of this fluid to evaluate the joint.
Table of Contents
Home Remedies To Treat Swollen Knee :
Not all kinds of knee pains can be treated at home, mild to moderate kinds of knee pains can be treated successfully while if pain if moderate to high I would suggest medical attention.
1.Injury pain:
I will tell you a very simple and easy to remember technique in case you have an injury pain. Just remember RICE. Surprised? Well yes, RICE is an acronym for rest, ice, compression, elevation.
Rest:
The best and easiest method for your swelling to reduce is to give yourself some rest. It will reduce the pressure on your affected area and give it time to recover. So stop being a burden on your knees and let them rest for a while.
Ice:
Knee starting to swell, all you need is a few cubes of ice wrapped in a handkerchief. Keep up the work for 20-30 minutes and repeat after about 4-5 hours.Give a good support to your knee by stuffed pillows, healing will be faster. Well if ice is not available any frozen vegetable like peas would work well.Its good way for swollen knee treatment.
Compression:
Wrap your knee with a compression bandage so that the swelling does not come up again but do not tie it up so hard that the knee can’t breathe, let the blood flow normally.
Elevation:
Keeping the knee elevated while resting will help to heal faster.
2.Regular exercises:
By exercise, I do not mean that you start going to the gym, which is only going to worsen your condition. Gentle exercises like walk, yoga, and swimming can be beneficial only if your body allows you to do so. If you are overweight, then this is the best alternative you can follow.
Walk:
Walking does not only help in reducing your joint pain, but it also has many more benefits. It lightens up your mood, boosts your heart rate and much more. Make walking a daily practice and results will be really good.
Yoga:
Yoga is most beneficial for RA patients. It tends to reduce fluid in the knee and also helps in cheering you up!!With RA, it is important to keep yourself in motion so yoga, as well as stretching, can be beneficial. Stretching includes the muscles of the arms, back, hips, thighs, and calves
Massage:
Another natural, simple and great remedy for your swelling is massage. You can use this technique with certain pain relieve oils to work best for you.It also helps in maintaining your blood circulation.It is the best way in treating a swollen knee.
3.Apple Cider Vinegar
A bit of homework would be required to perform this technique.
- Firstly prepare the organic apple cider vinegar
- Soak a cloth (which can absorb) into it and place it on the swollen knee.
- Cover the portion with kind of a plastic wrap
- Leave it for the night
Repeat this technique for about a week and you will realize all the work done was worth it.
5.Arnica
Arnica is a herb famous for its healing properties concerning bones, cartilage, and connective tissues.
It can be consumed in the form of tablets suggested by the doctor or arnica ointment can be applied over the effective area. The reduction in the redness can be observed within a few days.
6.Warm Bath:
This is one of the simplest and most effective technique to reduce knee swelling. All you need to do is bath but with warm water.
Alternatively, you can soak a towel in warm water and place it on the affected area for 15-20 minutes. You can repeat it 4-5 times a day and till your swelling reduces.
7.Diet:
Diet is one magical element that can heal almost all your troubles. It won’t only benefit your knees but will benefit your body as a whole. Vitamin C rich foods have antioxidants that help to reduce swelling and OA inflammation.
Examples of fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C are raspberries, citrus fruits, strawberries, etc. Also foods like fish, eggs, the lean meat rich in vitamin B and foods like dairy products, omega-3, salmon and walnuts rich in vitamin D help to reduce swelling. Vitamin D is specifically good for women suffering from osteoporosis.
These were the foods you should prefer, the things ones you should avoid are processed foods.
8.Willow Bark
According to a study published in 2001, some people found out that willow bark helps in reducing arthritis pain. Herbalists use it to treat fever and pain.
9.Rebounding:
This exercise will not only increase the movement of your joints but also is a very entertaining one.
It is performed on a mini trampoline; it’s safe for all age groups. It helps you to burn calories and boosts up your heart rate. If you are unable to balance yourself, buy a stabilizing bar along with your trampoline.
10.Moving Meditation:
This sounds interesting, right? Another name for moving meditation is Tai Chi; it is a traditional Chinese martial art.It combines mental focus with slow movements. It has shown good results for patients with RA. It helps to reduce pain and stress and improves the functioning of muscles.
11.Water Exercise:
Patients with RA show great results after going through hydrotherapy, i.e. exercising in warm water along with other activities. It also helps to lighten up the mood.
12.Herbal Ointment:
Herbs, natural medicines have the cure for everything. Recent researches have shown that a salve is consisting of cinnamon, ginger, sesame oil and mastic works as a pain relief treatment as effective as arthritis pain relief creams containing salicylate. These ointments take care of a swollen knee.
As you now know that not all types of knee swelling can be treated at home, so you need to see your doctor in the following conditions:
- When pain ranges from moderate to severe.
- Even after trying every self- care therapy or even the prescribed medicines do not reduce the pain or swelling.
- Apart from swelling, the joint shows other symptoms like redness, stiffness, acute pain, loss of range of motion.
- If symptoms match the symptoms of any known diseases like arthritis.
13. Adaptive Sneakers
User adaptive sneakers designed for individuals with swollen knees can be effective in providing comfort, support, and relief. These specialized shoes are crafted with features that address the unique needs of those with swollen knees, offering a more accommodating and comfortable experience.
Causes:
The reasons for a knee swelling can be determined by how swelling develops in the knee which is of the following four ways:
1. Swelling Occurs Rapidly, Immediately After An Injury
If the knee swells up just after an injury without any time gap, this points out to haemarthrosis. In haemarthrosis, blood accumulates in the joint.
What happens is the structure present inside the knee is damaged leading to bleeding. The knee feels very sore and tight. Mainly there are three causes which result in haemarthrosis.
A.Ligament Tear:
When a ligament is completely torn, apparently bleeding occurs. This is the most common cause of haemarthrosis. Particularly the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is involved.
B.Meniscus Tear
In this case, the outer rim of the cartilage is torn; it forms the lining of the knee tears.
C.Bone Fracture:
One of the knee bones tends to break. Any of these above conditions require the urgent visit to a doctor. Stay safe!
2. Swelling Occurs After A Few Hours Of An Injury
If swelling starts to occur only after a few hours to a few days after an injury, it is due to a knee effusion more commonly called as water on the knee.
When some part of the knee gets damaged due to the injury, it develops a kind of irritation and in response, the body increases the synovial fluid content. The amount of swelling here is variable and may come and go.
Its main causes are:
A.Meniscus Tear:
The outer part of the cartilage which lines the joint is torn. This does not bleed much as the supply of blood in this section is poor.
B.Knee Sprain:
Overstretching of a ligament leading to a few damaged fibers comes under sprain knee category.
3. Swelling Develops Gradually And Is Without An Injury
When there is an underlying knee condition or a disease, only then swelling develops gradually without any injury.
The reason behind this is the fluid which keeps on coming and going in variable amounts in the knee. The swelling caused is moderate.
The most common cause, in this case, is arthritis. It refers to the wear and tear of cartilage and bones. It forces the body to produce extra fluids in variable amounts.
Dealing in detail with arthritis, they are of the following types
A.Osteoarthritis (OA):
This leads to the ‘wear and tear’ arthritis. The main causes of its occurrence are injury and aging. The cartilage present at the end of the bones is affected.
This causes the lifetime weight-bearing joints to deteriorate. The examples of such joints are knees, feet, spine, etc. it causes pain in the swollen joint.
B.Rheumatoid arthritis (RA):
This kind of arthritis can occur at any age including children. It causes pain and stiffness in the swollen joints. Not only hands and feet, it can affect other parts of the body as well. It makes routine life activities difficult.
C.Psoriatic Arthritis:
This is a joint disease which is linked with a skin condition known as psoriasis. It is found in 5-23% people having psoriasis.
D.Infectious Arthritis:
Another name for infectious arthritis is septic arthritis. It is caused due to a bacterial, a fungal or any viral infection inside the tissues or the fluid of a joint.
Joint infections don’t occur on their own; they are triggered by any previous infections in any other part of the body.
That infection then moves into the joint via a bloodstream. Its symptoms may include swelling, pain and fever. Damaged joints tend to acquire infectious arthritis easily and most commonly knee, shoulder, hip, ankle and wrists are affected.
4. Swelling Occurs Rapidly Without An Injury
Sometimes rapid swelling occurs without any damage; this is due to one of the following reasons:
A.Infection:
Infections usually occur after surgery or any deep cut. They tend to increase the fluid present in the knee causing it to swell. The worst part about infections is that it can spread from any part of the body into the joint.
Infections present in the joints are difficult for the body to handle alone and may need surgery in the worst case.
B.Gout:
Gout strikes are suddenly causing severe joint pain, warming of the joint, swelling of course and redness. The pain associated is so severe that even the weight of a bed sheet is unbearable.
Actually what happens is the uric acid which is severe chemical produced during digestion in the body, forms sharp crystals, and they deposit in the joint. More than one joint may be affected by gout. This leads to inflammation.
Other Causes Of Swelling
Till now I have told you about swelling which occurs inside the joint, it can also occur outside the joint and is called extra-articular swelling. It is of the following types:
A.Bursitis:
Friction no doubt helps us to walk but causes the maximum wear and tear, so our body has provision to work against it. It has a small fluid filled sacs present between bones and soft tissues called bursa.
But if the pressure is too high i.e. the friction increases, they tend to inflate. So rather than the whole knee, only some portions of the knee get swelled up.
Swelling can be present in front of the knee caused by pre-patellar bursitis (also called housemaid’s knee) or swelling can be behind the knee caused because of popliteal bursitis (also called baker’s cyst).
B.Hematoma:
Any blunt injury which occurs to the soft tissues around the knee lead to bleeding. A hard lump is formed due to the collection of blood around the muscles. A small amount of bleeding is termed as contusion/bruise.
C.Pregnancy:
During the second trimester and beyond, it is very common to experience swelling in the knees.Due to the increase in blood flow, uterus puts pressure on the vena cava(it is a major blood vessel which controls the flow of blood from the heart to the legs).
Not only the knees, but this can also affect other parts like hands. To avoid this normal swelling, it is advisable to rest whenever you can and keeps your feet elevated.Do not heat up too much as it can cause problems, and do not stay in the same posture for very long.
Swelling in pregnancy does not always indicate the pressure on the vena cava; it may sometimes point to a very serious condition called hypertension.
If swelling becomes severe or comes along with other things like visual disturbances I would suggest you to consult your doctor immediately.
D.Swollen Knees In Children:
Apart from the swollen knees that children develop due to falling or normal injury, there may be other considerable causes.
Children should be evaluated for Lyme disease which causes persistent joint inflammation and also for septic arthritis which is an infection of the joint. It is very painful and causes warmth and swelling.
Rare causes of swollen knee
- Knee-Cap dislocation
- Runners’ knee
- Tumor
- DVT(deep vein thrombosis)
- Spontaneous Haemarthrosis
Precautions:
- With the help of exercise or other means, try to strengthen the muscles around the knees. It helps in relieving pressure on the joint.
- Exercises performed should be chosen carefully
- Weight management is a very important and crucial task. It not only affects your joints but also almost every other activity going on in your body.
