A 72-year-old patient complains of knee pain with climbing stairs and crepitus. What is the likely cause?

A 72-year-old patient complains of knee pain with climbing stairs and crepitus. What is the likely cause?

• A. Femoraltendinitis
• B. Patellar tendinitis
• C. Arthritis of the knee
• D. Patellar bursitis

Answer: (C)

In an older patient, knee pain that worsens with stair climbing and is accompanied by crepitus points to degenerative arthritis of the knee, usually osteoarthritis. As joints age, the articular cartilage wears down and the joint space narrows, while bone surfaces develop roughness and osteophytes. When the knee bends under load during stairs, that bone-on-bone contact and irregular surfaces produce both pain and a grinding, crackling sensation—crepitus. Tendonitis, like femoral or patellar tendonitis, tends to cause anterior knee pain related to overuse and load on the tendons, with focal tenderness at the tendon insertions rather than a mechanical grinding sensation. Bursitis around the knee causes swelling and warmth and pain with movement, but crepitus is not a defining feature. So the combination of age, pain with weight-bearing activities, and crepitus most strongly aligns with knee osteoarthritis.

In an older patient, knee pain that worsens with stair climbing and is accompanied by crepitus points to degenerative arthritis of the knee, usually osteoarthritis. As joints age, the articular cartilage wears down and the joint space narrows, while bone surfaces develop roughness and osteophytes. When the knee bends under load during stairs, that bone-on-bone contact and irregular surfaces produce both pain and a grinding, crackling sensation—crepitus.

Tendonitis, like femoral or patellar tendonitis, tends to cause anterior knee pain related to overuse and load on the tendons, with focal tenderness at the tendon insertions rather than a mechanical grinding sensation. Bursitis around the knee causes swelling and warmth and pain with movement, but crepitus is not a defining feature. So the combination of age, pain with weight-bearing activities, and crepitus most strongly aligns with knee osteoarthritis.