What Causes Severe Pain In The Knee?

Posted on Mon, 19 Sep 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 Answered on

Mon, 17 Oct 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : My right knee is causing a lot of pain. I am 60, black, male, and maybe drinking too much water as my job is outside and requires me to jump in and out of a truck for approx 12 hours a day, five days a week. I drink approx 8-10 16 oz bottles of water a day and urinate about 8 times a day. Knee is tender to the touch on the inside of the knee and also on the top of the patella. Any ideas?

Answered by Dr. Sandip Kabra (-1 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Arthritic pain needs to be ruled out.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome to health care magic,

I have read your query and can understand your concerns.

Considering your age and job, Knee pain is likely associated with arthritis here,so I will keep it as a first possibility and want to rule out it with proper clinical examination of knee and relevant investigations.

So,if I were your treating Doctor,I will order routine blood works,blood sugar,RA factor,ESR and C-Reactive Protein. Drinking too much water is very unlikely linked to it.

Apart from arthritis,I will also keep the second possibility of some knee ligament sprain or tear (cruciate ligaments of knee joint). And for that MRI scan of knee will be helpful.

You will need to see ortho-pedician for further knee evaluation.

Meanwhile,you can continue with over the counter pain killers (Aleve) and wear knee braces for symptomatic relief. The main line of treatment will be based on clinical findings and investigations reports.

Hope this will help you.

Regards,

Dr.Sandip Kabra

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Priyanka G Raj