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5 Signs Your Knee Pain Needs More Than Rest and Ice
Your knee is the biggest joint in your body. It supports your weight while helping you get around. It’s able to do that with a complicated network of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and menisci.
With so many components in play, it’s not all that surprising that you can run into knee trouble. Fortunately, in a lot of cases, your knee can repair itself on its own. The key is giving it rest and applying treatment to address inflammation, like ice.
In other cases, home remedies aren’t enough to heal the knee. Today, we want to highlight a few indicators that indicate you should see Ike Malik, MD, at Texas Pain & Orthopedics in Pflugerville, Texas. He can apply his joint pain expertise to figure out what’s going on with your knee. This allows him to tailor treatment to address the underlying issue.
5 signs your knee needs medical care
See Dr. Malik if your knee shows any of these signs:
1. It looks misshapen
A little swelling is pretty normal when you first injure a knee. But you shouldn’t notice more than a bit of puffiness. If your knee looks visibly deformed, it’s a pretty clear indicator that something is wrong.
2. You heard a popping sound
That sound could mean that you tore a ligament or tendon. That’s doubly true if the sound came with immediate pain afterward and you’ve noticed instability in the knee since.
3. You can’t put any weight on it
Similarly, if your knee can’t support you right now, it’s a clear sign that your knee is having a serious problem. It might feel uncomfortable to stand or walk with a minor knee injury, but if you shudder at the thought of even trying, see Dr. Malik.
4. You can’t bend or straighten it fully
This range of motion limitation probably comes from a structural issue in your knee, like a torn meniscus. Don’t ignore this warning sign.
5. It’s not getting better
Even if your knee isn’t exhibiting any of the above signs, it might still need medical care. Has it been more than a week? If your knee pain still isn’t improving, it’s probably more than a soft tissue problem that your body can heal on its own.
What we can do for your knee
When you see us for joint pain, Dr. Malik starts by identifying the root cause. He may order an X-ray, computerized tomography (CT) scan, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to see what’s going on inside your knee.
Then, he develops a treatment plan for you. If you’re dealing with an injury, he might recommend activity modification and a brace paired with healing-supporting treatment like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections. If your knee pain comes from a chronic issue like osteoarthritis, he may suggest viscosupplementation or a steroid injection.
Dr. Malik has a simple goal: making sure you don’t hobble through life. When your knee needs care, call our office or book your appointment online today.
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