What Causes Knee Swelling? 9 Reasons And Their Solutions

August 19, 2023
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Knee inflammation (aka knee effusion) is often your body’s attempt to heal an injury. But, other times, it can be a sign of something more serious. So, it’s essential to know what causes knee swelling in the first place.

That way, you’ll be able to treat it appropriately.

Below, I’ll explain 9 common reasons behind knee swelling. You’ll learn why each of these conditions causes inflammation and what you can do about them.

Here’s what I’ll cover, tap on any of the topics to jump straight there:

Now, let’s see what causes a swollen knee, shall we?

9 common causes of knee joint swelling

1) Torn ligament

A knee sprain happens when one of this joint’s ligaments gets injured. The severity can range from a mild overstretch to a complete tear.

Here, swelling appears almost immediately after the moment of injury. It brings repairing cells to the site and kickstarts the recovery process.

Now, some people will have mild inflammation, while others may feel severe knee pain and swelling. This will depend on the type of sprain, how it happened, and other factors.

There are several ways to heal a knee sprain. The swelling will be gone once the ligament is fully recovered.

Further reading: All you need to know about knee sprains

2) Meniscus tear

A meniscus is a C-shaped cartilage within the knee joint. We have two in each knee and they work with our ligaments to keep the knee joint stable.

Meniscus tears often happen while playing sports, after twisting the knee suddenly. People with osteoarthritis are also prone to this injury.

In this case, the swelling tends to get worse a few

hours after the moment of injury. Unlike a knee sprain, where it appears quickly.

Some meniscus tears can heal naturally, while others will need some kind of intervention if the symptoms are severe.

This can help: Should you walk with a torn meniscus?

3) Knee fracture

Fractures tend to cause severe pain and inflammation. As with the injuries above, swelling is there to promote healing and will improve once the bone heals.

Most knee fractures happen after:

Falling on your knees
A direct blow on your knee or shin bone
A sudden and strong contraction of your thigh muscles

It’s likely you won’t be able to bear weight on that leg, as it will be severely swollen and painful. But, there are some instances in which you can walk with a kneecap fracture.

With that said, please consult with your doctor before doing any activity with a fractured knee. It’s not a minor injury.

4) Knee tendonitis

Tendons connect muscle to bone. They can get swollen if you do an effort you aren’t physically prepared for.

For example, let’s suppose you decide to run a marathon without prior training.

This can create inflammation on the tendons of your knee because they aren’t prepared for the stress of the activity.

The sudden increase in activity harms the tendon, triggering an inflammatory response. The swelling will be painful as well. This is your body telling you to rest while your tendon heals.