People in a waking state spend most of their time on their feet. Therefore, it is very important that the muscles and joints of the lower limbs are healthy.
The instability of the capsular knee apparatus leads to the fact that the function of depreciation and support of the lower limb is lost.
The pathological process continues and bone structures of the knee joint are involved in it. This can lead to disability.
Contents of the article
- Characteristics of the violation
- What kinds and degrees of deviation are there?
- What causes knee instability?
- Symptoms and Diagnosis of Trauma
- Tests of
- What treatment is prescribed?
- Threat of complications
- How to prevent trouble?
Characteristics of the disorder
The difficulty in diagnosing is that the disease can not be diagnosed without a thorough examination of the diseased limb in a state of rest and movement.
If severe swelling occurs within the first day, it indicates a hemarthrosis, and the swelling of the joint, which persists for more than a day, indicates that a synovial effusion has occurred.
During the damage, you can hear a characteristic click in the joint.
Single severe injury often leads to the separation of the meniscus from the capsule. Strong muscular control in many cases does not allow to recognize the pathology in the early stages, and people turn to the doctor when the situation has gone too far.
What kinds and degrees of deviation are there?
The instability of the knee joint is indicated by hypotension and the subsequent gradual atrophy of the quadriceps femoris muscle.
Depending on the stage of developing pathology, several degrees of joint instability are distinguished. Especially bright it is manifested in athletes who regularly attend training.
Substantial physical stress on the knee causes painful sensations, and the person is forced to restrict physical activity, or do not leave training at all.
These degrees of instability of the knee joint are distinguished: 
- an easy degree of ( the lumbar and femoral surfaces of the joints are displaced relative to each other by 5 mm, the capsule is partially damaged, the ligament relaxation is minimal);
- average degree of , when this difference ranges from 5 to 10 mm( severe damage to the cruciate ligament);
- a severe degree of when the bias index exceeds 10 mm( rupture of the anterior or posterior cruciate ligament, or both).
In many cases, instability of the knee joint is more convenient to calculate not in mm., But in degrees.
With an easy degree, the displacement index does not exceed 5 degrees, the average - from 5 to 8 degrees, heavy - over 8 degrees.
Types of disorders:
- anterior( damaged anterior cruciate ligament);
- posterior( dislocation of posterior cruciate ligament);
- lateral;
- medial;
- combined.
Knee instability subtypes:
- simple or one-plane( light, corresponds to 1 degree of damage);
- complex or multiplane( severe instability is formed at 2 and 3 degrees of disease);
- combined;
- total;
- atypical;
- compensated( leg free movements, without painful sensations, periarticular muscular corset firmly holds the knee joint, slight inflammation easily stops);
- is subcompensated( after considerable physical overloads, sensation of aching and joint pain may occur, the ability to maintain is not reduced, lameness appears after a long walk or run, the pain syndrome is not self-fixed);
- decompression( resting on a sick leg without supporting devices causes great pain, the leg in the knee area swells, the muscles are atrophied).
What causes knee instability?
The causes of the pathological condition of the knee are: 
- dislocations of the shin and patella;
- strong blow to the knee joint( trauma is possible when falling);
- congenital maldevelopment and weakness of the ligamentous apparatus;
- sharp extension and flexion.
Legs are often injured in athletes involved in running, football, hockey, skiing.
Often the instability is manifested after a car accident.
Symptoms and diagnosis of injury
In the first hours after the injury, acute pain is felt, there is a strong swelling of the knee tissues, and the mobility of the joint is limited.
Diagnosis is difficult. Immobilization of the limb for several days can reduce the severity of symptoms of knee instability.
A thorough examination of the patient's limb is being carried out.
The patient is assigned:
- X-ray diagnostic instability of the knee joint( images can assess the condition of injured tissues, make sure that there is no intra-articular fracture);
- MRI of the knee ( gives details of the nature and extent of injury).
Tests
Testing is carried out after the acute acute period of the disease has passed, the swelling of the tissues has decreased, and the mobility of the joint has gradually recovered.
Macintosh and Houston tests are used when suspicion of anterior cruciate ligament rupture. The "rear drawer" test reports a trauma to the rear ligament apparatus.
Bending and unbending the diseased limb, creating an accelerated rotation, the doctor can assess the degree of displacement of the knee joints relative to each other.
What kind of treatment is prescribed?
At 1 and 2 degrees of instability of the knee joint, the patient is shown conservative treatment, including:
- immobilization of the limb with the help of tires;
- using bandages and tutors;
- reception of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- physiotherapy( electrophoresis, UHF therapy, etc., which have a toning and restoring effect on the tissues);
- cryotherapy( cold treatment);
- massage( improvement of blood supply, acceleration of metabolic processes and cell regeneration);
- special complex of physical exercises( restoration of joint mobility, increase of muscle strength).
Surgical intervention is often the only way out of the situation when the ligaments are ruptured.
Arthroscopy is used to restore the ligament apparatus, when the surgeon restores the integrity of damaged tissues through 2 tiny incisions.
After the operation, a long course of therapy follows, including massage, exercise therapy, and other methods that allow us to regain the previous mobility of the injured limb after 6-8 months.
Threat of complications
If you do not take urgent treatment measures, an inadequate stabilizing function of the ligaments leads to a further displacement of the joints relative to each other.
This is not only about athletes, but also about ordinary people who, with instability of the knee joint, constantly have to protect the limb from increased loads and even from ordinary walking.
Often, the patient's legs are weakened after climbing the stairs and abruptly changing the sitting posture to a standing position.
How to prevent trouble?
Preventive measures include the use of special orthopedic shoes for people with flat feet.
When choosing shoes, shoes, sneakers, you need to focus not on price, but on quality. Fortunately, that a variety of models allows you to choose shoes that fix the foot in the correct position.
During sports, should protect knee joints with bandages.
Running and other workouts, during which the knee ligament was heavily loaded, will have to be changed to more gentle sports: swimming, cycling, etc.
It is necessary to give priority to the exercises developing and training the quadriceps muscle of the thigh.
The daily diet should include foods rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium and other beneficial substances that activate metabolic processes in the body and ensure the full functioning of bone tissue.
The patient's lifestyle is a fundamental factor in finding out the cause of the disease and choosing the right direction of treatment. Athletes who have been training hard for many years, it is difficult to recognize the fact that the sport has remained in the past. But, alas, the reality makes its own adjustments.
The disease is successfully treated at an early stage, so the timely access to a doctor allows you to continue to live a full and full life.
