Comparison of knee pain among physically active and sedentary young adults

The knee is a significant weight-bearing joint in the human body. It is one of the most frequent locations of musculoskeletal discomfort and injury. Knee pain can be caused by inherited conditions like osteoarthritis or it can be brought on by unhealthy lifestyle choices like not exercising. Since physical activity levels are the main variable that has the most influence on the health of the knee joints, they account for a substantial share of the causes of knee pain. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare knee pain among physically active and sedentary young adults. A comparative cross-sectional study was carried out on 159 individuals. Data was collected by using KNEST, KOOS and SNAPPS questionnaires. The three questionnaires revealed that only a small number of variables, such as dislocated kneecap, swelling in the knee, knee pain in the last year, knee catching when moving, difficulty bending to the floor, side of pain, and those who similarly changed their lifestyle, showed substantial differences between the two groups. The p-value for these variables was < 0.05. However, this cross-sectional survey showed that neither physically active nor sedentary lifestyle produces significant influence on knee pain but there was greater proportion of knee pain among sedentary adults. Hence, we concluded that sedentary lifestyle is a dominant risk factor for knee pain.

Keywords – Knee joint, pain, physically active, sedentary lifestyle, young adult