Why do my knees give out – Knee Buckling Causes

Have you ever experienced locking sensations in the knee, pain when walking, or feelings of weakness in your quadricep area?

If the answer is yes, then it’s likely that you’re suffering from knee buckling.

Knee buckling can be described as a sensation of one or both knees giving out that impacts nearly 17% of adults.

Considered to be one of the most important (and largest) joints found in the human body, knees play pivotal roles in everyday activities such as walking and sitting.

This reliance on knees for proper movement can make it particularly stressful whenever our knees begin to feel unstable, weak, or begin giving out.

While knee buckling is sometimes a one-off event with little cause for worry, repeat instances can be a sign of bigger issues. Below are four of the most common causes of knee buckling.

Ligament Damage

The knee contains four main types of elastic ligaments that aid in strength and stability. These ligaments include the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), medial collateral ligament (MCL), and the lateral collateral ligament (LCL).

All four of these ligaments can become torn, resulting in potentially serious mobility issues. For example, ACL tears can occur suddenly, accompanied with a sensation of the knee completely giving out.

Moreover, athletes and other physically active people are more prone to multi-ligament injuries where more than one ligament is injured. In instances such as these, reconstructive surgery might be required.

Ligament damage isn’t the only cause of knee buckling, let’s explore other possible causes.

Arthritis

While there are more than 80 forms of arthritis, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are both known to cause knee buckling in patients.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition that creates a breakdown in joint cartilage, leading to increased joint friction in the process.

In contrast, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder where the body’s immune system mistakenly views the synovium –a joint’s soft lining — as a threat and begins attacking it.

Other arthritis symptoms that may cause knee buckling include:

• Clicking, grinding, creaking noises
• Joint stiffness
• Joint pain that intensifies with weather changes
• Trouble when walking

While there isn’t currently a cure for arthritis, there are treatments available to help manage the symptoms.

Femoral Nerve Dysfunction

The femoral nerve runs from the pelvis down to the front of the leg and aids in muscle movement. With femoral nerve dysfunction, damage to the femoral nerve results in a loss of sensation in certain parts of the leg.

This damage to the femoral nerve can occur from diabetes, pelvic fractures, and direct injury.

Patellar Instability

The kneecap (or patella) sits in a groove located on the thigh bone and allows us to bend and straighten our knees properly.

Patellar instability is when the kneecap (or patella) slips out of its groove or dislocates. Causes of patellar instability can include a sharp blow to the knee from direct contact or a fall that causes the kneecap to slip.

Knee buckling is a common symptom of patellar instability in addition to creaking sounds from the knee, pain while sitting, and stiffness.

Need Help With Your Knee Buckling Issues?

As revealed above, ignoring your knee instability symptoms and knee buckling may result in undetected and untreated medical issues.

If you have worries surrounding your knee’s stability, consider scheduling an evaluation with Dr. Van Thiel. As a leader in orthopedics, Dr. Van Thiel has extensive experience working with patients who suffer from multi-ligament injuries, kneecap instability, and more,

Keep your knees pain (and worry) free. Call the office of Dr. Van Thiel at (779) 774-1110 or request an appointment at the Rockford practice today.

Want more tips for improving your knee health? Get tips delivered straight to your inbox every month from industry-leading orthopedic surgeon Dr. Van Thiel.

5 Causes and How to Treat Them

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Was this helpful?

Knee buckling is when one or both knees feel weak and give out. It can be accompanied by pain, but not always. If it happens a lot, it could be a sign of an underlying medical problem.

Knee buckling is also referred to as knee instability or weak knees.

Frequent knee buckling also raises your risk of falling and seriously injuring yourself, so it’s important to figure out the underlying cause. Keep reading to learn more about the causes of knee buckling and how to treat them.

Many cases of knee instability are caused by injuries, either from high-impact activities, such as running, or an accident. Common knee injuries include:

• ACL tears
• meniscus tears
• loose bodies (pieces of bone or cartilage floating within the knee)

In addition to instability, knee injuries often cause pain and swelling in the affected knee.

Injury-related knee buckling usually goes away after you treat the underlying injury. Depending on the type of injury, you may need to do physical therapy or have surgery. While you recover, try to avoid putting pressure on your knee whenever possible.

The femoral nerve is one of two major nerves in your lower leg. Femoral neuropathy, which refers to dysfunction of your femoral neve, can cause weakness in your knees, making them more prone to buckling. Other symptoms of femoral nerve neuropathy include:

• pain
• tingling
• burning
• numbness in parts of your thigh or lower leg

Many things can cause femoral neuropathy, including:

• diabetes
• certain medications
• arthritis
• heavy alcohol consumption
• neurological disorders, such as fibromyalgia
• injuries

Treating femoral neuropathy depends on the cause, but it usually involves surgery, pain medication, or lifestyle changes. In many cases, neuropathy isn’t curable, but treatment can help to reduce your symptoms or prevent them from getting worse.

Plica syndrome is caused by inflammation of the medial plica, which is a fold in the middle of the membrane that covers your knee joint. In addition to knee buckling, plica syndrome can also cause:

• clicking sounds in your knee
• pain on the inside of your knee
• pain and tenderness in your kneecap

Most cases of plica syndrome are caused by a knee injury or overusing your knee. Treatment usually involves physical therapy to strengthen the muscles surrounding your knee. You may also need a corticosteroid injection to reduce inflammation. In rare cases, your doctor might suggest surgery to remove or adjust your plica.

Arthritis refers to inflammation in your joints, and it often affects your knees. There are many types of arthritis, but knee buckling is a common symptom of both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, which is an autoimmune disease. While rheumatoid arthritis usually affects both knees, you may only have osteoarthritis in one knee.

Both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis can also cause:

• pain
• stiffness
• a locking or sticking sensation
• a grinding or clicking noise

While there’s no cure for arthritis, several things can help you manage your symptoms, including:

• medications, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
• corticosteroid injections
• physical therapy
• wearing an assistive device, such as a knee brace

Some people with multiple sclerosis (MS) report having knee buckling as a symptom. MS is a condition that causes your immune system to attack the protective covering of your nerves. While there hasn’t been much research into the relationship between knee buckling and multiple sclerosis, weakness and numbness in your legs are common symptoms of MS. This may make it feel like your knee is buckling.

MS can cause a variety of symptoms that differ from person to person, but other common symptoms include:

• vision loss
• fatigue
• dizziness
• tremors

There’s no cure for MS, but corticosteroid injections can help to reduce nerve inflammation in your legs. Taking muscle relaxants can also help if you have stiffness or frequent spasms in your legs.

Frequent knee buckling may be a sign of an underlying injury or condition, so it’s a good idea to follow up with your doctor. In the meantime, try to rest your knee and apply either a hot or cold compress. You can also wear a knee brace or use a cane to reduce your risk of falling when your knees buckle.

You can also try these leg exercises for weak knees.

Knee buckling can range from a mild annoyance to a serious health hazard. Depending on what’s causing it, you may need physical therapy or surgery. Work with your doctor to figure out what’s causing your knees to buckle and use extra caution when walking up or down stairs.

Where does leg weakness come from and what to do about it

July 22, 2020

Likbez

Health

Trembling knees can be a sign of a serious illness.

Wadded legs that have become naughty are a special case of muscle weakness. Most often, this unpleasant condition is temporary and quickly passes by itself. But sometimes, especially if you notice weakness in the legs all the time, it can signal serious malfunctions in the body.

When to seek immediate help

Sudden muscle weakness can be a sign of a stroke, an interruption in blood flow to the brain. Call 103 or 112 if the sudden feeling of wobbly legs is accompanied by other symptoms:

• acute, very severe headache;
• dizziness;
• loss of balance;
• deterioration in coordination of movements;
• unilateral numbness – for example, suddenly one of the hands is taken away or one side of the face goes numb;
• blurred vision in one or both eyes;
• speech problems – the tongue becomes naughty, you find it difficult to pronounce the simplest words.

Any of these symptoms, together with weakness in the lower extremities, is enough to suggest a stroke. In this case, the slightest delay is deadly, urgent medical care is needed.

If there are no danger signs, try to figure out what exactly is happening with your lower limbs.

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• What to do if the temperature stays at 37 °C

What are the causes of weakness in the legs

Legs can become cottony for many reasons. Here are the most common ones.

1. Severe or prolonged stress

“Fear paralyzes” is not a form of speech, but a real phenomenon. When you are very afraid of something or worry about something, the “fight or flight” reaction is triggered in the body. Trembling knees, a feeling of weakness in the legs can be a subjective manifestation of it.

Muscle weakness often occurs in those who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome, anxiety disorder, depression.

2. Iron deficiency anemia

Anemia occurs when the level of erythrocytes, red blood cells that carry oxygen to organs and tissues, decreases in the blood. Most often this happens due to the fact that the body does not receive enough iron. This microelement is necessary for the production of hemoglobin, a key protein that is part of red blood cells.

Other symptoms of anemia include fatigue, easy shortness of breath, and cold, numb extremities.

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• 10 foods that contain more iron than anywhere else

3. Lack of certain nutrients

We are talking about electrolytes, which include calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium. These substances are necessary to maintain the water-salt balance and, among other things, help ensure the correct transmission of nerve impulses and the proper functioning of muscles.

The reason for the lack of electrolytes is often dehydration caused by insufficient drinking, excessive sweating, diarrhea, vomiting. Also, the culprits can be an unbalanced diet or medications – for example, certain antibiotics and immunosuppressants.

4. Old age

Muscles weaken with age. This condition is called sarcopenia. As a rule, muscle mass begins to decrease already from the age of 30-40, and by 60-70 this process becomes obvious.

All the muscles in the body are affected, but the weakness in the legs is often the most noticeable, simply because the lower limbs are more likely to be stressed.

5. Sedentary lifestyle

If you spend a lot of time sitting or lying down, temporary weakness in your legs after you decide to use them is quite expected.

6. Certain medications

Muscle weakness is a side effect of drugs such as corticosteroids, interferons, cholesterol-lowering drugs, and even common over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen.

7. Pinching of blood vessels or nerve endings

Probably everyone knows what it means to “sit out the leg”. When a limb (or both) is in the same uncomfortable position for a long time, there is a risk of pinching blood vessels or disrupting nerve function. Circulatory failures, incorrect transmission of nerve impulses are often accompanied by numbness, tingling and severe weakness in the affected leg.

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• Why hands and feet go numb and what to do about it

8. Peripheral neuropathy

This is a disorder that affects the peripheral nerves, that is, the nerves that are farthest from the spinal cord and brain, such as those located in the legs. Peripheral neuropathy can have different causes.

• Age. The work of the nerves is disturbed over the years. In the US alone, more than 20 million people suffer from peripheral neuropathy, most of whom are elderly.
• Incipient diabetes . In this case, we are talking about diabetic neuropathy.
• Hypothyroidism. This is the name given to a condition in which the thyroid gland produces too few hormones.
• Love for alcohol. Drunkenness leads to alcoholic neuropathy.
• Unbalanced diet lacking vitamins. In particular, we are talking about vitamins E, B1, B6, B12, and P, which are critical for the normal functioning of the nervous system.
• Toxin poisoning. As a rule, we are talking about poisoning with salts of heavy metals – lead, arsenic, mercury, thallium, as well as some industrial chemicals (for example, cleaning products). Nerve dysfunction in this case is called toxic neuropathy.

9. Injury or swelling of the spine

Prolonged weakness in the legs may be a symptom of spinal cord injury.

10. Autoimmune diseases

Multiple sclerosis, autoimmune thyroiditis (thyroid disease), Guillain-Barré syndrome – a lot of conditions in which the immune system goes crazy and begins to attack one’s own body, make themselves felt by weakness in the legs.

11. Parkinson’s disease

The first signs of this type of dementia are problems with the limbs: tremor in the hands and weakness, uncertainty in the legs, the appearance of a shuffling gait.

What to do if you feel weak in your legs

First, analyze your condition. If weakness in the legs appears only from time to time and you can associate it with experienced stress or, for example, a long sitting position, there is nothing to worry about.

But if trembling in the knees becomes regular and you notice weakness in your legs almost every day, this is a definite reason to visit a therapist. The doctor will conduct an examination, take an interest in your lifestyle, habits (including harmful and food habits), and clarify what medications you are taking. You will most likely be asked to take blood and urine tests to check for any disorder, such as anemia, diabetes, or hypothyroidism.

Depending on the results of the examination and tests, the therapist will send you to a specialized specialist – endocrinologist, neuropathologist, surgeon, psychotherapist.

Although it is possible to get rid of weakness in the legs, it will be enough to adjust the lifestyle:

• move more;
• go in for sports or at least exercise therapy to strengthen muscles;
• make changes to the diet by adding foods high in iron, vitamins, electrolytes;
• reduce the amount of sugar you eat;
• give up alcohol;
• learn to deal with stress.

The therapist will give you detailed advice. Follow them.

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• Why hands shake and what to do about it
• 12 reasons why you constantly want to sleep

Knees hurt: causes and treatment

Knees can hurt at any age and for a variety of reasons, even due to wearing inappropriate shoes.

The fact is that daily loads are put on the knee joints. They can be mild, for example, when walking, and strong, with regular sports, frequent bruises, carrying heavy loads, etc.

However, physical activity and injuries are not the only causes of pain. They can be inflammatory diseases and even tumors.

In any case, knee pain is a sign of pathological processes and a reason to see a doctor.

Why knees hurt

The main reasons why knees hurt are:

Injuries

Most often they occur in athletes and football players due to constant friction of the patella against the thigh bone, as well as frequent falls and bumps. However, in a special risk group are non-professional athletes who can damage their knees due to improper running technique.

Classification of injuries: bruises, dislocations of the patella (rarely knee), torn ligaments, fractures and injuries of the meniscus. Most often they are accompanied by aching pain in the knees.

Inflammatory processes

Chronic injuries, allergic reactions, metabolic disorders and infections can lead to them. The latter can spread even due to a scratch. Often, pathologies are accompanied by the accumulation of fluid in the joint. In particular, with tandenitis, pain is localized just below the knee and intensifies with flexion-extension.

These include: arthritis, lipoarthritis, bursitis, synovitis and tendinitis.

Autoimmune diseases

Most of these are chronic diseases that occur due to the fact that the body begins to produce antibodies to healthy cells and tissues. The body’s own immune system begins to perceive the joints as enemies and attacks them.

For this reason, the following diseases may occur: rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, reactive arthritis.

Degenerative tissue changes

Associated with the aging process and wear and tear of the joints. Most often found in older people. It is impossible to reverse these changes, but treatment is necessary in order not to bring the problem to the point of surgical intervention.

Types of degenerative disorders: osteoarthritis, osteochondropathy, meniscopathy, tendopathy.

Tumors and cyst formation

They affect the joint and periarticular tissues, which causes pain. In particular, discomfort at the back of the knees can be a symptom of cyst formation. However, knees can also hurt due to other oncological processes: breast cancer, lung cancer, etc.

Classification of diseases: Baker’s cyst, benign and malignant tumors.

Psychosomatics

In this case, emotional experiences are transformed into physical sensations. That is, pain directly depends on psychological factors. Their peculiarity is that they are unstable, not associated with physical activity and other provoking factors.

Which doctor to contact

The choice of a doctor directly depends on the causes of pain. If you have not experienced similar problems before, it is best to start with a visit to a therapist. He will conduct an examination and make a preliminary diagnosis, on the basis of which he will refer you to a narrow specialist.

So, which doctors help with knee pain:

Traumatologist

If you notice that pain appeared after a bruise, fall or other injury, then it is better to immediately contact this specialist.

Surgeon

For more serious problems, such as a torn ligament or a maniscus, the help of a surgeon is indispensable. You should also make an appointment with him for acute pain and swelling of the knee, accompanied by fever.

Neurologist

This specialist helps to restore the normal function of the knee joint, which can be disturbed by a long period of immobility, for example after a fracture.

Rheumatologist

If the cause of knee pain is an autoimmune disease or the initial stage of osteoarthritis, then this doctor can help. However, with serious deformities of the musculoskeletal system, you need to go to an orthopedist.

Orthopedist

There are a number of problems that negatively affect the condition of the knee joints: flat feet, curvature of the spine and legs. In such cases, it is this specialist who helps to cope with the root cause of pain.

Infectionist

You should contact this doctor if your knee is red and you suspect an infection may be the cause. For example, you have been bitten by a tick, you have been injured while cutting meat, you have been scratched by an animal, etc.

Masseur and Physiotherapist

Regardless of the cause of pain, these doctors help speed up recovery and avoid problems with knee joints in the future.

Treatment for knee pain

What is the best remedy for knee pain? First, peace.