I went to the hospital because my back hurt, but what's wrong with my knee?
Jun 12, 2025
"I went to the hospital because my back hurt, but he said he had a knee problem"
It is more common than expected to find knee disease while visiting a hospital due to back pain. In particular, in the elderly, pain often appears in both areas at the same time as degenerative changes in both the spine and joints progress. This is because the spine and joints have a close impact on walking, weight load, and maintaining lifestyle. If there is an abnormality in one area, a chain of burdens will naturally be placed on the other area as well.
As a typical example, a patient with spinal canal stenosis, who is unable to walk for more than 10 minutes due to numbness in his legs, was mistaken for a knee disease or treated for pain in the outside of his knee, but in reality, a herniated disk was the cause. In addition, it is not uncommon for diseases in other areas to show similar symptoms, such as neck disc, water root canal syndrome, lumbar disc, and hip joint disease.
Lumbar disc and hip joint disease cause similar symptoms, such as frequent back pain and pain extending to the pelvis and hips. In this case, it is difficult for the patient to determine what kind of disease he or she is, and if simple imaging tests such as X-ray tests do not show any obvious abnormalities, it is not easy to identify the cause by symptoms alone. The problem is that both diseases are progressing at the same time. Treatment of areas with severe pain may worsen other diseases or slow overall recovery. If only the lumbar disc is treated and hip joint treatment is not performed, the pain may persist, as well as in severe cases, it may lead to bloody necrosis of the femoral head, which rotts the femoral head.
Therefore, it is desirable to visit a hospital where consultations with various medical departments related to spine and joints are possible, rather than concluding that it is a disk if your back hurts and legs are numb, a frozen shoulder if your shoulder hurts, and another disease with similar symptoms if your knee hurts.
Director Park Jae-hyun (neurosurgeon) of Barunseang Hospital's Spine Center said "In the case of spinal and joint diseases, similar symptoms are often seen, and if the test results are not clear, accurate diagnosis may be delayed because the disease can be specified based on one's own specialized field."It is an era of overflowing information, but it is not easy to clearly diagnose the presence of overlapping diseases only with symptoms without expertise. In particular, if symptoms such as pain and numbness persist even after treatment, it is recommended to visit a specialized hospital consisting of detailed specialists such as spine, joints, and limbs.
It is more common than expected to find knee disease while visiting a hospital due to back pain. In particular, in the elderly, pain often appears in both areas at the same time as degenerative changes in both the spine and joints progress. This is because the spine and joints have a close impact on walking, weight load, and maintaining lifestyle. If there is an abnormality in one area, a chain of burdens will naturally be placed on the other area as well.
As a typical example, a patient with spinal canal stenosis, who is unable to walk for more than 10 minutes due to numbness in his legs, was mistaken for a knee disease or treated for pain in the outside of his knee, but in reality, a herniated disk was the cause. In addition, it is not uncommon for diseases in other areas to show similar symptoms, such as neck disc, water root canal syndrome, lumbar disc, and hip joint disease.
Lumbar disc and hip joint disease cause similar symptoms, such as frequent back pain and pain extending to the pelvis and hips. In this case, it is difficult for the patient to determine what kind of disease he or she is, and if simple imaging tests such as X-ray tests do not show any obvious abnormalities, it is not easy to identify the cause by symptoms alone. The problem is that both diseases are progressing at the same time. Treatment of areas with severe pain may worsen other diseases or slow overall recovery. If only the lumbar disc is treated and hip joint treatment is not performed, the pain may persist, as well as in severe cases, it may lead to bloody necrosis of the femoral head, which rotts the femoral head.
Therefore, it is desirable to visit a hospital where consultations with various medical departments related to spine and joints are possible, rather than concluding that it is a disk if your back hurts and legs are numb, a frozen shoulder if your shoulder hurts, and another disease with similar symptoms if your knee hurts.
Director Park Jae-hyun (neurosurgeon) of Barunseang Hospital's Spine Center said "In the case of spinal and joint diseases, similar symptoms are often seen, and if the test results are not clear, accurate diagnosis may be delayed because the disease can be specified based on one's own specialized field."It is an era of overflowing information, but it is not easy to clearly diagnose the presence of overlapping diseases only with symptoms without expertise. In particular, if symptoms such as pain and numbness persist even after treatment, it is recommended to visit a specialized hospital consisting of detailed specialists such as spine, joints, and limbs.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
