IS IT ALWAYS GROWING PAIN?

It is quite common that children or adolescents start complaining of knee discomfort or pain without having sustained any type of trauma or injury. In these situations it is the clinicians duty to obtain a good medical history, which in the great majority of patients will lead to a diagnosis.

Often children disclose some minor injuries, which they thought were of no relevance to the current problem. In other situations a change in activity level or a change of sporting activity altogether might be related to the onset of symptoms, albeit with a considerable delay.

The patient has to remember that pain represents the body's defense mechanism, designed as a warning signal to protect or prevent structural damage to occur or to progress further. Hence, patients experiencing pain for what they might consider 'no real reason', should immediately stop any sporting activities and seek specialist advice. Damage might have already occurred due to chronic overload or overuse of the knee and further deterioration may develop if the patients ignores those warning signals.

To obtain a family history can be very important in the assessment process of children, especially if a similar problem had been apparent in any of its siblings. It is quite possible that even the grandmother or grandfather might have suffered from particular knee problems or pains, which can be relevant in finding the right diagnosis.

Please click on the links on the right side of this page which will take you to the different types of problems and abnormalities often seen in children and adolescents.

• DISCOID LATERAL MENISCUS
• INFECTIONS (SEPTIC ARTHRITIS ETC.)
• INFLAMMATORY ARTHRITIS - 'JUVENILE RHEUMATIOID ARTHRITIS'
• CHRONIC SYNOVITIS (PIGMENTED VILLONODULAR SYNOVITIS, SYNOVIAL CHONDROMATOSIS ETC.)
• BENIGN BONE & SOFT-TISSUE TUMOURS (ABC, GCT, NON-OSSIFYING FIBROMA, SIMPLE BONE CYST, OSTEOID OSTEOMA, FIBROUS DYSPLASIA, CHONDROMA, EXOSTOSIS, MYOMA, ETC.)
• MALIGNANT BONE & SOFT TISSUE TUMOURS (CHONDROSARCOMA, OSTEOSARCOMA, MALIGNANT FIBROHISTIOCYTOMA, PIGMENTED NEUROECTODERMAL TUMOUR, MYOSARCOMA ETC.)
• STRESS FRACTURES
• ENDOCRINOLOGICAL DISEASES (KETONURIE ETC.)
• GENETICALLY INFLUENCE ABNORMALITIES (OSTEOGENESIS IMPERFECTA, HYPOCHONDROPLASIA ETC.)