Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Checking for Symptoms
• Part 2 of 3: Medical Diagnosis
• Part 3 of 3: Treating a Sprained Knee
• Warnings

Sprains are a fairly common injury, especially among people who are actively involved in sports. Stretching occurs when a person overextends a muscle. Stretching occurs due to excessive stress on the muscle, misuse of the muscle, or damage to the muscle resulting from an injury. When you tense your knee muscles, you tear muscle fibers or injure tendons by stretching them too much. Sprain pain can occur immediately after an injury or after a few hours. If you think you have sprained a muscle in your knee, learn what the symptoms are, how to check for a stretch, what to expect at the time of diagnosis, and what you will need for treatment.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Checking for Symptoms

1. 1 Check for inflammation and soreness. Inflammation is the body's response to healing the injury. During recovery, swelling, pain, fever, and redness of the injured part of the body usually occur. Place your hand on your knee and check to see if it has warmed up or increased in size. Also, check if your knee hurts when touched. The knee may also turn red.
   • Warmth in the affected area is caused by increased blood flow. Blood transfers heat from internal organs to cooler peripheral tissues.
   • Inflammation is caused by the body's response to tissue damage and an increase in white blood cell counts.
   • Redness is caused by increased blood flow to the injury.
   • Sometimes the injured area may not be red, but rather pale or blue.It is caused by hyperflexion or hyperextension of the limb.
2. 2 Note the loss of flexibility and mobility. Knee injuries often result in decreased flexibility and mobility in the injured limb. Stand on your good leg and gently lift the injured leg to see if it feels weak or unsteady. You may be severely limping or trembling in your sore leg.
   • Stretching will affect the tendons and tissues that connect to the muscle, making you feel weak and stiff in the knee area.
3. 3 Check for numbness or muscle cramps. Sometimes, injury can lead to numbness or sudden and sporadic muscle spasms. After injury, be sure to check if you feel tingling in your knee or the area around it.
   • Numbness is caused by an abrupt loss of sensory or motor function resulting from trauma that damaged muscle tissue.
4. 4 Listen to sounds and test flexibility. Move your leg gently and notice any strange noises (grinding or clicking) coming from your knee. Such noises may indicate that you have ripped something. As you listen, also see if you can fully straighten your leg. Failure to fully bend or straighten your leg and knee is a sure sign of a stretch.
5. 5 Determine if you can stand on your injured leg. Your muscles and tendons will not be as strong as they were before the injury. Try to stand on the injured leg to see if you can do it and if the knee is flexing under your weight. You can also walk down or up stairs to determine if you can walk with ease. If your muscles, tendons, or ligaments are injured, it can be difficult and painful to walk.

Part 2 of 3: Medical Diagnosis

1. 1 Tell your doctor all relevant medical information. At the appointment, you should tell your doctor about all your knee problems, past complications from surgery, knee inflammations and injuries, and your level of physical activity.
   • Remember, you may have recently fallen, walked or ran on uneven ground, stumbled, hit your knee, twisted your ankle, or had an atypical load on your knee.
2. 2 Check your knee ligaments. The doctor will order several tests to check the condition of the knee ligaments. It is very important to know what condition your ligaments are in, as they give the knee stability. The doctor may check the following: collateral ligaments, posterior cruciate ligament, and anterior cruciate ligament.
   • Valgus and varus stress tests are used to check the condition of the internal and external collateral ligaments.
   • The anterior drawer test checks the condition of the posterior cruciate ligament.
   • The Lachmann, Anterior Drawer, and Lateral Slip Test checks the condition of the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL.
   • If your doctor thinks you have a meniscus problem based on your knee ligament tests, they may order a McMurray test.
   • If you experience severe pain while taking the aforementioned tests, your doctor may order you to undergo astrometry to measure your knee mobility. However, this is very rare.
3. 3 Do other tests if your doctor suspects a more serious injury. The doctor may do a physical examination of the injured knee to determine the degree of pain, swelling, stability, or mobility of the knee. To do this, he may order additional tests, such as X-rays, MRIs or ultrasounds. They help your doctor understand what's going on with your knee.
   • These tests should only be done if knee ligament tests have shown no problems.
   • X-rays can be used to check for cracks and fractures.
   • An MRI will allow your doctor to see the internal structure of your knee to check for swelling and soft tissue damage.
   • Ultrasound can be used to image tissue in the knee. Ultrasound is also a form of treatment.

Part 3 of 3: Treating a Sprained Knee

1. 1 Take medications to relieve pain, swelling, and fever. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are pain relievers that can help relieve pain, swelling, and fever caused by a knee injury. Check with your doctor before taking any medications as they can cause kidney problems or bleeding. If these over-the-counter medications don't work, buy your prescription medications.
2. 2 Keep movement to a minimum to preserve your knee. Apply a splint, cast, staples, bandage, or crutches to the knee to reduce knee movement until it heals. Since the movement of your knee will be limited, it will also help reduce pain. Your doctor may advise you not to step on your injured leg for 48 hours.
3. 3 Keep your knee raised and at rest. To relieve pain, you must keep your knee elevated and rest. Keep your knee above the level of your heart to reduce blood flow to the injury.
   • Try sitting in a chair or chair with your leg in front of you on an ottoman or ottoman with a couple of pillows under your knee. You can also sit or lie in bed with pillows under your knee.
4. 4 Apply ice to your knee and bandage it. To reduce pain and swelling, bandage your knee and apply ice to it. Take an ice pack and place it on your knee for no more than 20 minutes. You can repeat this process every hour. Ice will help prevent further tissue damage. Bandaging your knee with bandages can help reduce swelling and pain.
   • Apply ice for the first 48 hours after injury.
5. 5 Apply an elastic bandage. An elastic band or bandage will help stimulate blood circulation in the injured area and provide support for the knee. Wrap your knee yourself or ask your doctor.
6. 6 Get physical therapy to speed up your recovery. Depending on the severity of your injury, your doctor may recommend physical therapy. Here you will be taught how to do exercises that can help reduce pain, strengthen your knee muscles, and improve mobility.
7. 7 Seek urgent medical attention if you have certain symptoms. In some cases, with a knee injury, you need to urgently go to the emergency room (or call an ambulance if you cannot move on your own). Seek help immediately if:
   • If you are unable to step on an injured leg or feel that the joint is too mobile.
   • If redness or red streaks spreads around the damaged area.
   • If you've repeatedly injured this knee before.
   • The sprain appears to be severe.

Warnings

• See your doctor if your knee still hurts after two weeks of home treatment, or if your knee becomes hot or you have a fever with pain and swelling.