Knee swelling can be a big concern for athletes of any age. When you gain a better understanding of your swollen knee, you can lower the pain and retrieve the ability to get up and move again, all while staying healthy. When people have knee pain and knee swelling, they want to know if the knee pain caused the swelling or if the swelling is causing the pain in the knee. It’s similar to the causality dilemma of “which came first, the chicken or the egg?”
When you know the causes of the pain or swelling in your knee, you have taken the first step in regaining the control of that knee. You can handle the responsibility of your knees; you don’t have to hand over the responsibility of making sure your knees are happy to anyone else. There are different types of swelling, and they are not all equally created.
Lower The Swelling
If your knee is swollen, the quad muscles are limiting their strength because of the signals from your brain. It’s one of those protective mechanisms that will help lower the stress on the joints of your knee. When you are able to lower the knee swelling, you will gain an increased strength in your leg.
Ice
If you have a fitness plan (we’re sure you do), you have to include compression and ice. Compression and ice will help control the swelling, lower the pain, and reduce knee effusion. The range of motion of your knee will also be increased, and a great number of other factors that will be related to your knee therapy. Place the ice on the skin area of the part that is swollen. You can let the ice sit on your knee for about 10-20 minutes, and when you take the ice off, let it sit for another 10-20 minutes.
Your Knees Are Talking
You will have a hard time driving in your vehicle if you did not have the information from your dashboard. When you listen to your body dashboard, you will be able to understand what your body parts are telling you. The best athletes in the world have to listen to their body parts, even if it means sitting on the sidelines for a few games. It is best to reduce the small issues before they become huge issues.
We’ve probably all heard from someone that we need to improve our listening skills; so listen to your knees to keep them happy and healthy. Eating healthy can make a big difference to a knee that is already swollen.