When the body breaks down purines, a substance found in human tissue and in many foods, uric acid forms. Uric acid dissolves in the blood and passes through the kidneys and into urine for elimination. If the kidneys do not eliminate the uric acid properly or if there is an excessive intake of high-purine foods, uric acid begins to crystallize. This crystallized uric acid settles in the kidneys and forms kidney stones or settles into joints and causes a form of arthritis called gout. Symptoms vary between individuals, depending on the severity of the condition. Some people with high levels of uric acid may not experience any symptoms.
The knee joint is perhaps one of the most important joints required for normal weight bearing of the body, irrespective of whether a person is sitting, standing or walking. It is also one of the most commonly involved joints in infections, diseases processes, trauma or application of force and other disorders that may lead to improper functioning of the knee joint.
What are some common causes of knee pain?
There are apparently many reasons for knee pain and pain of other joints; however following causes are regarded as the most prevalent ones:
- Pain due to tight tissue compression on the joint (mostly seen in the setting of trauma or fracture)
- Infection of joint space as a result of some prevalent risk factor like an open wound or intravenous drug abuse history.
- Increase in uric acid levels in the blood (which could result in a condition called Gout which is a painful form of arthritis)
- Most of the time the knee pain caused by the first two reasons mostly disappears after short-term treatment of painkillers or antibiotics. But in the case of knee pain or joint pain caused by uric acid crystal deposit in the joints causing Gouty arthritis, it can take a while for the condition to be cured. In fact, GOUT is a slowly progressing disease and has a tendency to come back again if the root cause is not diagnosed and treated effectively.
Having too much uric acid in the blood is among the major causes of gout. It is a condition in which excessive uric acid is deposited in the knee joint capsule and leads to pain, swelling, redness and inability to move.
Risk factors for Gout:
The uric acid levels become extremely high in:
- High levels of protein in the diet. More specifically certain types of seafood dramatically increase the uric acid level of your body leading to an increasing knee and joint pain.
- Conditions that increase the turn-over of cells like Cancer or other diseases like eczema. Uric acid is produced when the cell is destroyed.
- In some genetic diseases
- In cancer chemotherapy, due to increasing cell destruction.
- Some medications also increase uric acid levels in the body.
What can be done to treat your knee pain?
If you are suffering from continuous knee joint pain or pain of other joints for a longer period of time without any history of any fall or trauma, you should:
- Consult your physician to rule out any active infection or ligament tear or any other disease process in your knee.
- It is therefore strongly recommended to get your uric acid levels checked by the doctor if no other cause can explain your knee pain. It important to confirm the existence of gout because only then the right treatment can be started.
What should you do if you have elevated uric acid levels
If you correctly follow the instructions and prescriptions of a doctor, you can successfully treat the knee and joint pain and also control your high uric acid levels. It is also important because if uric acid levels are not controlled in time, it may lead to increase deposition of uric acid in the kidney to form kidney stones and other tissues to create reactive tissue damage due to uric acid.
If your blood tests show high uric acid levels, cut down on food items high in purine (form of protein) content. Stay away from red meat, green peas and lentils. They have the high concentration of purine.
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