Your knees are responsible for supporting a significant portion of your body and providing motion for activities like running and jumping. When the knees buckle underweight, you may find it difficult to accomplish many daily tasks.
Sometimes, the leg falls asleep and your knee may buckle when you try to stand. The occasional buckle like this is usually an isolated incident and is no big deal. However, if your knees frequently buckle, it may be the sign of a serious condition.
Four conditions that cause the knee to buckle
- Injury — A direct impact or a fall can cause injury to the knee. There are several injuries that can occur, including ligament tears, cartilage tears and bone fractures. When these occur, you may not notice pain or swelling right away, but you will have difficulty putting weight on the knee. If one of your knees is buckling and develop pain and swelling, you may have a serious injury that requires medical treatment.
- Arthritis — Arthritis is a condition that causes the cartilage in your joints to break down. This can happen in the knees, which causes the bones in your knees to rub against one another. This usually creates pain and instability in the knee that can cause them to buckle.
- Plica syndrome — The plica is a membrane that surrounds the knee joint. Typically, the plica is absorbed by the time your body develops, but it remains intact in nearly half of all adults in the U.S. An injury to the knee or overuse can cause inflammation in the plica, which is known as plica syndrome. This causes pain, especially when trying to move your knee, and it may cause your knee to buckle.
- Nerve conditions — A condition that affects the femoral nerve can cause your knee to buckle. There are several conditions that may cause this to happen, including diabetes, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and multiple sclerosis. Nerve conditions in the knee are often accompanied by other symptoms, such as pain, tingling, and burning. If your knee is buckling and you notice any of these symptoms, you may need to see a doctor for treatment.
Visit the iRISE Spine and Joint Institute for knee pain treatment
Does your knee frequently buckle? This makes it difficult to live your daily life and puts you at risk for harm from falls. Let one of our doctors at the iRISE Spine and Joint Institute examine your knee to figure out what’s causing the problem. Contact us today to learn more about knee pain treatment or to schedule an initial appointment.
