Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An MRI uses radio waves and a powerful magnet to create 3D images of the inside of your knee. This test is particularly useful in revealing injuries to soft tissues such as ligaments, tendons, cartilage and muscles.
Knee ligament tests involve a healthcare provider manually putting pressure on the four major ligaments of the knee to help determine if knee pain could be due to sprain or tear. Such tests include the anterior drawer test, the posterior drawer test, the valgus stress test, and the varus stress test.
The best scan to discover the reason for your pain is an MRI. Your doctor might recommend a CT scan in an emergency or if you need results quickly. While a CT scan can diagnose some causes of knee pain, an MRI can diagnose more.
The location of knee pain can help identify the problem. Pain on the front of the knee can be due to bursitis, arthritis, or softening of the patella cartilage as in chrondromalacia patella. Pain on the sides of the knee is commonly related to injuries to the collateral ligaments, arthritis, or tears to the meniscuses.
Imaging Tests
Doctors use MRI scan to examine the ligaments to determine the extent of a knee injury. The results of these scans can also determine if more than one structure in the knee is affected. For example, your symptoms may be caused by a knee cartilage injury, or a meniscus tear.
Swelling or stiffness. Pain, especially when twisting or rotating your knee. Difficulty straightening your knee fully. Feeling as though your knee is locked in place when you try to move it.
Red flags in physical examination
For those who are symptomatic can present with discoloration, pain, warmth, swelling, and tenderness of the affected extremity (11).
Signs of arthritis in the knee may include: Pain in the knee that can be worsened by certain movements and exercises, including prolonged walking or standing. Stiffness of the knee joint, which makes it difficult to bend and straighten the knee.
During the physical exam, your doctor is likely to: Inspect your knee for swelling, pain, tenderness, warmth and visible bruising. Check to see how far you can move your lower leg in different directions. Push on or pull the joint to evaluate the integrity of the structures in your knee.
Acute severe pain means it hurts so much you can't walk, there is a deformity, or your knee is red, hot, and swollen. These symptoms would need an MRI to diagnose the problem.
An MRI of the knee can help find problems such as damage to the ligaments and cartilage around the knee. The MRI also can look for the cause of unexplained knee pain, the knee giving out for no reason, or infections in or around the knee.
Pain with movement or activity in the knee. Swelling in the knee. Walking with a limp or a feeling that the knee is going to “give out” with standing and walking. The feeling of a “pop” or “snap” felt in the knee when the injury occurred.
Often you will have pain at the sides of the knee and swelling over the injury site. If it is an MCL injury, the pain is on the inside of the knee. An LCL injury may cause pain on the outside of the knee. The knee will also feel unstable, like it is going to give way.
Your physiotherapist will carry out a thorough assessment to find out what component(s) of your knee is the primary cause of your problem. PRICE guidelines (Protection, Rest, ICE) may be utilised initially and this might be in the form of crutches, a knee support or the use of ice therapy.
Make an appointment with your doctor if your knee pain was caused by a particularly forceful impact or if it's accompanied by: Significant swelling. Redness. Tenderness and warmth around the joint.
Symptoms of a meniscus tear may be different for each person, but some of the most common symptoms are: Pain in the knee joint: usually on the inside (medial), outside (lateral) or back of the knee. Swelling. Catching or locking of the knee joint.
stiffness or swelling around your knee – the swelling may not start for a few hours or days. difficulty bending, straightening or moving your knee. your knee giving way when you try to stand. a crunching or clicking feeling when you move your knee.
Pain. A torn meniscus usually produces well-localized pain in the knee. The pain often is worse during twisting or squatting motions. Unless the torn meniscus has locked the knee, many people with a torn meniscus can walk, stand, sit, and sleep without pain.