Can I Tap That?
Part 1 of a Series
How often do you come in contact with a patient whose chief complaint is knee pain? How often can you actually to do something about it? Collectively as emergency providers, we do not typically fix these types of injuries in the ED, and at times, it is not even certain if we actually diagnose knee pain properly. The truth of the matter is simply that we can diagnose it correctly, help our patients feel better, and give them some answers.
Frequently, traumatic knee pain can be diagnosed as a contusion, generalized strain, or sprain. Rest, ice, compression, elevation, and NSAIDS are often prescribed. If you are lucky, you may encounter the uncommon patellar tendon dislocation, and obtaining a radiograph for traumatic knee injuries may actually yield positive results. At least you can pop it back into place. (Read our previous blog post and watch our video on patellar dislocation at http://bit.ly/1Nd31E9.) The differential diagnosis for knee pain, however, is endless. Here are a few for you to peruse.
Common Causes of Knee Pain
Children/Adolescents
Adults
Older Adults
Patellar subluxation
Patellofemoral pain syndrome (chondromalacia patella)
Osteoarthritis
Tibial apophysitis (Osgood-Schlatter lesion)
Medial plica syndrome
Crystal-induced inflammatory arthropathy: gout, pseudogout
Jumper’s knee (patellar tendonitis)
Pes anserine bursitis
Popliteal cyst (Baker’s cyst)
Referred pain: slipped capital femoral epiphysis, hip fra...
Source: The Procedural Pause - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
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