When it comes to diabetes, many people immediately think about insulin, blood sugar levels, and diet. However, diabetes isn’t just linked to a high risk of damage to the eyes, kidneys, and nerves. This chronic illness can affect other parts of your body too.
For example, many diabetic patients complain about joint stiffness, reduced mobility, and knee pain. In fact, around 47% of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes have arthritis. Let’s learn more about knee problems in diabetes patients and popular knee pain treatments in Mumbai.
Knee Pain and Diabetes: How They Are Connected
High blood sugar can damage tissues throughout your body. These include your ligaments, blood vessels, nerves, and even cartilage. Over time, this damage can make your knees and other joints stiff.
1. Constant Inflammation
People with diabetes often experience low-grade inflammation. Usually, inflammation occurs when you have an infection or injury and resolves once you have healed. However, in diabetes patients, it may persist.
This ongoing inflammation can affect tissues within and around your joints and can contribute to constant stiffness and pain in your knee. It can also speed up the breakdown of cartilage, which causes pain and affects your mobility.
2. Affects Collagen
Collagen supports tendons, ligaments, and cartilage function. It keeps them flexible and strong enough to move smoothly. Excess blood sugar, especially in people with uncontrolled sugar for a long period, can alter collagen’s structure. This may affect its ability to support the structures around your knee joint, resulting in a stiffer, painful, and difficult-to-move knee.
3. Diabetic Neuropathy
Diabetic neuropathy is a complication of uncontrolled diabetes. It happens when high blood sugar that remains unaddressed for a prolonged period starts affecting your nerves. The nerve damage is mostly seen in the feet and legs. This can further affect your movements and walking patterns. So, how does knee pain fit here?
When you walk awkwardly, your knee gets strained. The constant strain on your knee can cause joint pain and discomfort. Sometimes, the nerve damage is so severe that people don’t even feel the pain from the wounds on their feet or legs.
4. Reduced Blood Flow to Your Joints
Tissues throughout your body require a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients to function. High blood sugar can damage the tiny blood vessels that supply nutrients to the tissues in and around your knee joint.
Although your knee doesn’t depend on these blood vessels as much as your muscles, the tissues surrounding the knee can still benefit from good circulation.
Best Treatment for Knee Pain
Identifying the root cause of knee pain is the first step in determining the suitable treatment. If it’s linked to uncontrolled diabetes, an orthopedic doctor will work closely with an endocrinologist to plan your treatment.
Sometimes, physical therapy and weight management are enough to offer relief. For others, medication, and in a few cases, injectables may be needed. Consult the best orthopedic surgeon in Mumbai to discuss the most reliable treatment options for diabetic knee pain.
