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Fell Down On Knee. Developed Pain And Swelling From Knee To Toe. How To Cure This?

Posted on Thu, 28 Mar 2013

Question: I tripped over a box and fell hard on my knees a month ago. The righ knee to the brunt but was able to walk on it after about 2 days, muscles didn't want to move but slowly loosened up. Kept ice and elevated but both legs are severly swollen from the knee to the toes. The right leg is extremely tight and painful when flexing the foot. Swelling is not going down that much with ice packs and elevation. Getting concerned since it doesn't seem to be getting better and it has been four weeks. I keep off of it as much as possible and keep it elevated when sitting. I take Aleve every day. Any idea why the swelling isn't subsiding?

Answered by Dr. Saurabh Gupta (1 hour later)

Hi and welcome to XXXXXXX
Thanks for posting your query.

It seems you might developed ligament injury to your knees.If proper rest is not given(immobilization in form of knee brace) and if you continue to walk on your injured knee, healing of ligaments might get hampered or delayed.This might be the reason that swelling is not subsiding and pain persists.
Now after 4 weeks if pain is severe ,I would suggest getting this evaluated by an orthopedician for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate management. You may get the MRI of the area affected under his/her guidance.

Hope this will help you. Please do write back if you have any additional concerns.

Wishing you speedy recovery...

Regards.
Dr Saurabh Gupta.
Orthopaedic Surgeon.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Saurabh Gupta (5 minutes later)

The knee itself is not painful. It is the swelling that is bothering me as well as there are some "dead" spots down the side of the knee and XXXXXXX Is it normal for swelling to continue 4 weeks after an injury?

Answered by Dr. Saurabh Gupta (21 minutes later)

Hi,
Thanks for posting your query again.

If it is not painful, means injury is in healing stage and some swelling is normal even after 4 weeks after an injury. Continue to keep limb elevated as much as you can.It might take 1 to 2 more weeks to subside.If after that it persist , get it evaluated.

Hope this will help you. Please do write back if you have any additional concerns.
Please close this discussion, if you do not have any other queries.

Wishing you good health...

Regards.
Dr Saurabh Gupta.
Orthopaedic Surgeon.

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar