It's also a common problem when athletes have poor physical conditioning and lack strength or flexibility. For women, that means participating in sports like soccer, basketball, volleyball and gymnastics. The risk of ACL injury is highest in sports that require pivoting, jumping, cutting or a rapid change of direction. This may result from non-contact injury (landing awkwardly, cutting or changing direction) or from contact such as getting tackled during a football game. The ACL is injured when it sustains a force that exceeds the strength of the ligament. Most injuries occur in the young, athletic population. The ACL is one the most commonly injured ligaments of the knee. Problem: ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) Tears
If pain persists after long bouts of activity, it's best to see your doctor for a full evaluation. Work on stretching and strengthening your legs. If you have meniscus pain, be sure to ice your knee and take an anti-inflammatory to keep the swelling down. When the meniscus breaks down, the torn pieces can cause irritation that leads to pain and swelling on either the inner (medial) or outer (lateral) side of the knee, depending on which meniscus is torn. The meniscus is a crescent-shaped piece of cartilage acts as the cushion for the knee.
It is also wise to avoid activities that may aggravate the kneecap, such as climbing stairs, running up and down hills and squatting excessively. You'll also need to stretch the muscles and tendons that may be tight such as the hamstrings (in the back of the leg) and the iliotibial band (on the outer side of the leg). To prevent pain, it's important to build up muscle endurance and strengthen the quadriceps muscles in the front of your leg. This can lead to pain and swelling in front of the knee and behind the kneecap. But sometimes the kneecap slides slightly off track and rubs against the bone and cartilage nearby. When working properly, your patella should glide straight up and down as you extend your leg.
Here are some common knee problems women encounter and tips from UCSF orthopedic surgeons and knee specialists on how to prevent them: Problem: Patella or Kneecap Pain (pain in the front of the kneecap) More often, women tend to use their leg muscles differently than men. Another cause could be traced to a woman's muscles. Women tend to have wider hips and are slightly knock-kneed (their thighbones tend to curve inward from the hip to the knee) and this alignment can create added stress on the joints. Why are women winding up with more knee injuries? Researchers suspect one of the most likely causes is the way women are built. Each year, roughly 10 million women see their doctors for knee pain, often caused by activities that are not related to sports, such as lifting boxes, going up a flight of stairs or squatting too much while gardening. But what most people don't know is that you don't have to be a weekend warrior to end up with a serious knee problem. Most of us have heard that women athletes are more prone to suffering from a traumatic knee injury.