Knee Pain Overview (cont.)
IN THIS ARTICLE
Prevention
Knee pain has a host of causes. Many types of pain are difficult to prevent, but you can do some general things to reduce the likelihood of sustaining a knee injury.
- Stay slim
- Staying slim reduces the forces placed on the knee during both athletics and everyday walking and may, according to some medical research, reduce osteoarthritis.
- Keeping your weight down may also reduce the number of ligament and tendon injuries for similar reasons.
- Staying slim reduces the forces placed on the knee during both athletics and everyday walking and may, according to some medical research, reduce osteoarthritis.
- Keep limber, keep fit
- Many knee problems are due to tight or imbalanced musculature. Stretching and strengthening, therefore, also help to prevent knee pain.
- Stretching keeps your knee from being too tight and aids in preventing both patellofemoral syndrome and iliotibial band syndrome.
- Strengthening exercises particularly of the quadriceps (straight leg raises and leg extensions are 2 excellent exercises, but please see a book on exercise and training for more) can help prevent knee injury.
- Many knee problems are due to tight or imbalanced musculature. Stretching and strengthening, therefore, also help to prevent knee pain.
- Exercise wisely
- If you have chronic knee pain, consider swimming or water exercises.
- In water, the force of buoyancy supports some of our weight so our knees do not have to.
- If you don't have access to a pool or do not enjoy water activities, at least try to limit hard pounding and twisting activities such as basketball, tennis, or jogging.
- You may find that your aching knees will act up if you play basketball or tennis every day but will not if you limit your pounding sports to twice a week.
- Whatever you do, respect and listen to your body. If it hurts, change what you are doing.
- If you are fatigued, consider stopping-many injuries occur when people are tired.
- If you have chronic knee pain, consider swimming or water exercises.
- Protect the knee
- Wearing proper protection for the activity at hand can help avoid knee injuries.
- When playing volleyball or when laying carpet, protecting your knees may include kneepads.
- When driving, knee protection may include wearing a seatbelt to avoid the knee-versus-dashboard injuries as well as injuries to other parts of your body.
- Wearing proper protection for the activity at hand can help avoid knee injuries.
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Chronic Pain/Back Pain
Find tips and advances in treatment.
- Understand How Fibromyalgia Is Diagnosed
- Explore a Treatment for Fibromyalgia Pain
- Tools to Help You Talk with Your Doctor
Cymbalta is approved for the treatment of fibromyalgia.
Important Safety Information
Cymbalta® (duloxetine HCl) is approved for the treatment of depression and generalized anxiety disorder, and for the management of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia.
What should I talk about with my healthcare provider?
Patients on antidepressants and their families or caregivers should watch for new or worsening depression symptoms, unusual changes in behavior, thoughts of suicide, anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, difficulty sleeping, irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, impulsivity, restlessness, or extreme hyperactivity. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have thoughts of suicide or if any of these symptoms are severe or occur suddenly. Be especially observant within the first few months of antidepressant treatment or whenever there is a change in dose.
You should also know that:
- ·Suicide is a known risk of depression and some other psychiatric disorders.
- ·Antidepressants may increase suicidal thoughts or behaviors in some children, adolescents, and young adults especially within the first few months of treatment or when changing the dose. No increased risk has been shown for adults over age 24, and risk decreased for those over age 65.
- ·All patients starting therapy should be monitoblue appropriately and observed closely for new or worsening depression symptoms, suicidal thoughts or behavior, or unusual changes in behavior.
- ·Cymbalta® is not approved for use in patients under age 18.
Who should NOT take Cymbalta?
You should not take Cymbalta if:
- ·You have recently taken a type of antidepressant called a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI)
- ·You have uncontrolled narrow-angle glaucoma (an eye disease)
- ·You are taking Mellaril® (thioridazine)
What other important information should I discuss with my healthcare provider?
Before starting Cymbalta, tell your healthcare provider:
- ·about all of your medical conditions, including kidney problems, glaucoma, or diabetes
- ·about your alcohol use
- ·if you are taking nonprescription or prescription medicines, including those for migraine, to address a possible life threatening condition
- ·if you are taking NSAID pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners. Use with Cymbalta may increase bleeding risk
- ·if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant during therapy, or are breastfeeding an infant
While taking Cymbalta, tell your healthcare provider:
- ·if you have itching, right upper belly pain, dark urine, yellow skin/eyes, or unexplained flu-like symptoms, which may be signs of liver problems. Severe liver problems, sometimes fatal, have been reported
- ·if you have high fever, confusion, and stiff muscles to address a possible life-threatening condition
- ·before stopping Cymbalta or changing your dose
- ·if you experience dizziness or fainting upon standing, especially when first starting Cymbalta or when increasing the dose. Your healthcare provider may periodically check your blood pressure while you are taking Cymbalta
If you have any questions, talk to your healthcare provider before taking Cymbalta.
What are the possible side effects of Cymbalta?
The most common side effect of Cymbalta was nausea. For most people who had it, the nausea was mild to moderate. Other common side effects included dry mouth, sleepiness, constipation, decreased appetite, and, increased sweating. This is not a complete list of side effects.
Read What Your Physician is Reading on eMedicine
Knee Injury, Soft Tissue »
Soft tissue injuries of the knee are some of the most common and clinically challenging musculoskeletal disorders in patients presenting to the ED.
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