What Are the Causes of Shoulder & Knee Pain?
The pain experienced with shoulder or knee pain can be mild and be treated easily, while other pain can be quite debilitating and require more treatment. Causes of shoulder and knee pain include injuries or disease, but most instances can be managed.
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Anatomy
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The shoulder is made up of three different bones--the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade) and the humerus (upper arm bone). There are two joints that make movement easy--the acromioclavicular joint and the glenohumeral joint. The acromioclavicular is located between the acromion and the clavicle, and the glenohumeral is a ball and socket type joint that helps move the shoulder forward and backward and allows the arm to rotate.
The knee consists of three compartments. The thigh bone (femur) meets the large shin bone (tibia) forming the main knee joint. This joint has an inner (medial) and an outer (lateral) compartment. The knee cap (patella) joins the femur to form a third compartment called the patellofemoral joint. There are ligaments surrounding and within this knee joint that provide stability and strength. Additionally, there is the meniscus that provides cushioning to the two joints formed by the femur and tibia.
Pain and Causes
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Shoulder pain can be the result of injury or disease of the shoulder joint. Injury can also affect the ligaments, cartilage, menisci and the bones of the joint. Diseases can affect the soft tissues and bones in the shoulder or the nerves.
Causes of shoulder pain include rotator cuff problems, frozen shoulder, angina, heart attack, lung cancer, muscle pain, radiculopathy (compressed nerve in the spine), bone tumor, brachial plexus injury and cartilage tear.
Some causes of knee pain include sudden turning or pivoting, awkward landings from a fall or from jumping and disintegrating from aging. Other causes include chrondomalacia (softening of the cartilage under the patella), bursitis, dislocation of the patella, tendonitis, strain, sprain, a meniscus tear, torn ligament (i.e. an ACL tear) or Baker's cyst (a fluid-filled swelling behind the knee).
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Injury
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Certain injuries to the knee can cause pain. For example, a blow to the knee (either from a sport, a fall or a car accident), repeated stress or overuse, sudden turning or pivoting or awkward landings from a fall or from jumping.
The same holds true for shoulder pain. Certain injuries such as from a car accident, repeated stress or overuse, can all cause pain to the shoulder. Other injuries can cause dislocation, separation, a fracture or a broken bone.
Diseases
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Diseases such as tendonitis, bursitis, arthritis (i.e. rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis), infections, tumors, shingles can also contribute to shoulder and/or knee pain. Others include Baker's cyst, angina, heart attack, Pellegrini-Stieda syndrome (calcium deposits on the inside of the knee), chrondomalacia, obesity and lung cancer.
Most Common
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The diseases that are common to both shoulder and knee pain are tendonitis, arthritis and bursitis.
Tendonitis is an inflammation of irritation of a tendon. Symptoms include pain at the site of the tendon and loss of motion. Several activities can play a part in causing tendonitis, including gardening, raking, carpentry, shoveling, painting, tennis, golf and skiing.
Arthritis is an inflammation of one or more joints. This inflammation can cause pain, swelling, stiffness and limited movement. Causes include having an autoimmune disease, a broken bone, general wear and tear, being overweight, a previous injury to the area, repetitive action and infection. Typically, once the injury has healed, or the disease is treated, the inflammation goes away. When it doesn't, this is what is called chronic arthritis.
Bursitis is a painful condition that affects the small fluid-filled pads (called bursae) that act as cushions among your bones and the tendons and muscles near your joints. Bursitis occurs when a bursae becomes inflamed. Bursitis often occurs in the shoulders, elbows or hips, but it can also occur in the knees. Symptoms include an achy or stiff feeling, more pain when your press on the affected joint and the joint will look swollen and red. Causes include repetitive motions or positions that irritate the bursae (i.e. throwing a baseball).
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit knee image by Vasily Smirnov from Fotolia.com
