Severe knee pain can prevent your ability to move with ease and comfort.

Extremely painful knees are debilitating and a damaged knee joint can likely cause permanent disability.Often knee pain will occur for a short period and then resolve but it may return a few weeks or months later.

Knee Joint: The knee is the largest joint in your body. Your knee joint is made up of several different ligaments, tendons and muscles that hold the knee joint together.

Between the bones are layers of cartilage that absorbs shock and allow the joint bones to move smoothly. A knee problem is often caused by an injury to one or more of these structures.

Risks Factors: Some people are at high risk to develop knee problems.This may be the result of jobs, sports and recreation activities. Also, getting older or having certain diseases increase your chances of having problems with your knees.

Knee Pain: Knee injuries and strain may be due to a sudden trauma or the result of repetitive strain. Injuries to the ligaments and tendons that connect and support the kneecap.

A torn cartilage can result in ruptured or torn tendon fibres. The result is swelling, inflammation and pain that limits mobility.

Arthritic conditions can cause intense knee pain.Osteoarthritis ensues when the cartilage of the knee slowly wears away this causes knee pain. Also, rheumatoid arthritis of the knee causes much pain because the joints, the tissues, tendons, ligaments and muscles around the joints are inflamed.

Pain or tenderness can be constant or it simply comes and goes. As well knee pain can cause weakness and not being able to move the knee joint in the normal way.

Symptoms: Symptoms of a damaged knee may develop from everyday wear and tear, or overuse, or injury. Symptoms may include swelling, tenderness redness, feelings of instability or giving way when walking. Or the knee may feel as though it's giving out from under your weight when you stand up.

You may even hear painful pops and snaps or feel crunching or grinding sensations. Sometimes the knee seems to be locking where you cannot bend or straighten the knee.

Knee Oversight: Its essential to watch over your knees to prevent sudden twisting motions, traumatic meniscus tears, overexertion of your knee joints or sprained ligaments. If your knee pain is recurring eventually it becomes chronic, this can progress or lead to more serious injuries and complications.

Get your knees evaluated if you are experiencing knee problems

Treatment Options: Take an active role in managing your knee pain. There are many available treatment options. Treatment depends on the location, type, your age and severity of the injury. As well your health condition and activity level will determine treatment approaches.

A pain treatment plan may involve rest, joint protection, bracing medications or even surgery. Physical therapy exercise can be a great way to help alleviate pain by strengthening your muscles, increasing flexibility and reducing swelling.

Here are some self-care intervention to deal with painful knees

• Apply strapping or a brace to support the knee
• Rest the hurting knee.
• Use an ice pack, to ice the area for 20 minutes. Ice calms inflammation, this can helpdecrease swelling, pain and improve range of motion
• Heat packscan help with pain. Heat warms up your muscles so they move better
• Compress the area with a bandage thats not too tight
• Put as little weight as possible on the knee, avoid standing for a long time
• Trans cutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or TENS, uses a device to send a low-voltage electric current to the skin over the area where you have pain. blocking the pain messages that go to your brain.

Don't let knee pain limit  or steal your mobility.