Knee pain during nighttime is among the most common problems that older adults face. Sometimes, the nocturnal pain in the knee makes it very difficult for one to sleep. It keeps lingering on, making one feel restless, eventually reducing the quality of one’s sleep. If this is something that you can relate to, you should look for a knee specialist right away.

Why do we experience knee pain during the night?

Typically, the strains and stresses throughout the day tend to build up in the knees. Eventually, when you lie down in the bed and get the chance to unwind, these stresses strike back. In such a scenario, you would be desperate to figure out the cause and its solutions.

In this article, we put together all the possible causes of knee pain that occurs only during the nighttime. These include:

Gout Knee

Gout is among the most common causes of joint pains at night. The culprit is uric acids that build up in the joints over the day. This results in swelling and pain due to inflammation. The crystals due to uric acids begin forming in the joints when the temperature is low. This is what causes redness, swelling, and heat in the knee at nighttime.

The treatment for gout knee includes a combination of ice, medications, and rest. This condition can be taken care of in a week, sometimes two. Though, there is always a risk that it will be back.

Knee arthritis

Another common cause of knee pain during the night is knee arthritis. It is more common for people who are above the age of 60. Arthritis results in the knee cartilage becoming thinner and making the joint space narrower.

As the fluid that lubricates and nourishes the joints dries up, the bones begin rubbing each other. This causes joint stiffness and also results in pain during the night time. If you find your joints to be stiff and hurting during the morning, it is a classic sign of arthritis.

Inflammation

Any underlying health condition that can lead to inflammation and swelling in the joint will cause pain during the night. These include bursitis, trauma, knee strains and sprains, rheumatoid arthritis, tendonitis, and a lot more.

Sometimes, the inflammation is also a result of excessive physical activity or a lack of it. The more you use your joints, the more the inflammation can increase. Due to physical exertion, lactic acid also starts building up in the muscle, which causes soreness and in turn, pressure on the joints.

Growth pains

Children often suffer from knee pain during the night after and during a growth spurt. This typically happens when the bones in the legs are growing faster than the leg muscles. As a result of this, the tendons and muscles are under stress and the pain is worse during the night.

Why is knee pain worse at night?

Well, you might wonder why the pain in your knees is worse at night. That is particularly because there are no distractions and hence, your mind is hyper-aware of your body. A lack of sleep and a change in respiration rate during the night is also one of the major reasons why we are more susceptible to feeling pain in the knees. Of course, this would only occur if any underlying condition is present.

Conclusion

Knee pain is not impossible to manage. All you need is the attention of a good doctor who specializes in joints and bones. Your general physician can only offer you help to a certain extent. After that, you need a specialized podiatrist Woodbridge. A good specialist will check your history, current condition, and will suggest you medication.