A sudden onset of knee pain can often take us by surprise and feel completely debilitating. So, in the event of a flare up, what should you be doing?
Firstly, acute knee pain can be caused by a multitude of reasons, and although it feels important initially to know exactly what is driving your pain, often this isn’t too important in the early stages and doesn’t change the initial management.
If the knee pain started after a trauma, such as a fall or something has hit you, and you are struggling to weight bear, it may be beneficial to obtain an X-ray to rule out a fracture.
Most other causes of sudden knee pain are caused by ligament or tendon injury, cartilage injury or arthritis. The level of ‘damage’ does not always correlate with the level of pain and often with some simple self management strategies, you will be feeling much better, relatively quickly.
So back to the initial question, what should you be doing?
- Stay calm: try not to panic and think about ‘worst case scenarios’. Trust the process.
- Swelling management: try to keep the swelling under control by regularly applying ice for 15-20 minutes and taking over the counter anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen.
- Pain management: Over the counter medication such as paracetamol can be helpful to reduce the intensity of the pain.
- Maintain/restore range of movement: focus on slowly trying to bend and straighten the knee. With repetition and good swelling management, the ability to achieve a larger range of movement should improve.
- Relative rest: this does not mean you need to be on bed rest, however, it may be sensible to reduce physical activity, particularly those that involve fast paced changes of direction, for a short time until symptoms improve.
You should start to notice some improvements to the pain and stiffness within the first 5-7 days. If a problem still persists, this may be an ideal time for a physiotherapist to review you and try to distinguish the structures that may be involved to inform your rehabilitation plan.
See the video below for some ideas on how to get the knee moving again.
As always, if you are in extreme pain that is not improving, and are struggling to weight bear, it may be prudent to seek medical attention.