Traumatic synovitis of the knee

The knee joint has the largest synovial membrane in the body. Because it is very fragile, if it is affected by trauma, it can easily lead to traumatic synovitis of the knee joint. The synovial membrane is very important for increasing the lubrication between joints. If the synovial membrane is damaged, it will be very serious. Once traumatic synovitis of the knee occurs, the patient will feel unbearable pain in the knee joint.

In order to improve the condition of traumatic synovitis of the knee joint, patients should not only pay attention to reasonable treatment when the disease occurs, but also provide corresponding care when the symptoms of the disease are alleviated, so as to reduce the damage caused by the disease and relieve the patient's pain.

1. Correctly handle the relationship between rest and activity. Active and passive activities should be suspended until the effusion subsides. In severe cases, appropriate braking should be applied. Premature activity can lead to chronic synovitis. During the rest and immobilization phase, you should start actively exercising the quadriceps (isometric contraction). After the effusion subsides, start knee joint activities and walking. Emphasis on quadriceps exercises is key in treatment.

2. Excessive fluid accumulation in the joints can increase the pressure in the joint cavity, stimulate nerve endings, increase pain, and cause reflex muscle spasms. In the late stage, adhesions form in the joints, leading to functional impairment, so puncture and fluid extraction should be performed. When the effusion is small, puncture is not necessary.

3. Local physical therapy, hot compress, and use of Chinese herbal medicine to reduce swelling and remove blood stasis can be performed. Knee joint trauma can often cause intra-articular hematoma, which is mostly caused by intra-articular fractures, or soft tissues such as ligaments and synovium, surgery, etc. There are other causes such as scurvy, hemophilia, villonodular synovitis, etc., collectively referred to as spontaneous intra-articular hematoma. Intra-articular hematoma of the knee rarely coagulates and mostly remains in a fluid state due to the action of fibrinase. The red blood cells in the accumulated blood overflow into the gaps between synovial cells and remain there and in the subsynovial tissue. Others are phagocytosed and broken down by synovial cells and transformed into multi-center or mono-center snail-shaped membrane bodies and siderogenic bodies. If the accumulated blood remaining in the joint is not absorbed, the deposition of hemosiderin will lead to peri-articular fibrosis.

In order to alleviate the damage caused by traumatic synovitis of the knee joint, patients must follow the above methods for care. In fact, in addition to the traumatic type, there are other types of knee synovitis, such as chronic and acute. However, no matter which type of knee synovitis it is, the harm it brings should not be ignored and treatment should not be delayed.