Patients often present to the office when their knee pain starts to affect their sleep. I looked at this article with interest but quickly found that I disagreed with most of the information.
Perhaps this is why “Doctor Google” isn’t always so great. However, the topic is a good one.
Why does knee pain often get worse at night and what is causing it?
- At night, your body has less distractions, so you are more likely to notice mild pain
- You are active all day and inflame your knee, so naturally it is at its worst at night
- Circadian variations in hormones, such as cortisol, may affect inflammation
- Unstable flaps of cartilage or meniscus may be more symptomatic when you aren’t putting weight on your leg
If your knee pain is keeping you up at night, see a doctor and get X-rays at a minimum. The solution often is a physical therapy and/or cortisone or hyaluronic acid injections — but in some cases cartilage repair, meniscal surgery or partial or total knee replacement is the answer.
The complete article is available at Livestrong.com, but as I mentioned, it doesn’t have the best information.