Knee Injury Treatment

Untreated knee injuries can interfere with your daily activities and cause pain. If you have an injury that needs treatment, visit an urgent care center like Ortho OIC. Our team specializes in caring for a range of orthopedic situations, including knee injuries. Come to Ortho OIC whenever you need knee injury treatment in Arlington, Virginia.

Learn about common knee injuries and how Ortho OIC will help you recover.

What Is a Knee Injury?

Knee injuries involve trauma to one or more knee components, such as ligaments, tendons, cartilage, muscles and bones. Injuries can occur due to a forceful knee twisting, falling or enduring high impact from an accident or other force.

Common Knee Injuries

Each component of your knee is vital to ensure you can move and have stability. If any part gets damaged, your ability to stay active or put weight on your leg may become challenging. Knees can endure common injuries like:

• Dislocations.
• Sprains.
• Ligament and tendon tears.
• Fractures.

Some injuries, like meniscal and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears, are more severe. Meniscal tears affect the cartilage that acts as shock-absorbers between the bones of your thigh and shin. ACL injuries happen when an individual changes directions too quickly or lands incorrectly after jumping.

Many knee injuries commonly occur because of direct trauma or participation in sports. Individuals in professions that require a lot of heavy lifting or repetitive movements may also be at risk for knee injuries.

Common Knee Injury Symptoms

You can determine if you’ve sustained a knee injury depending on the symptoms you’re experiencing. Some common symptoms include:

• Severe pain.
• Redness or warmth to the touch.
• Swelling and stiffness.
• Inability to fully straighten the knee.
• Crunching or popping noises.

Knowing the symptoms of knee injuries will alert you to when it’s necessary to seek immediate treatment so your injury can heal properly. Your knees play a vital role in helping you move around, so getting knee injury treatment as soon as possible ensures your knees retain their functionality.

Diagnosing Knee Injuries

When you need to see a knee injury specialist, visit Ortho OIC. Our orthopedic specialists offer comprehensive examinations and diagnostics to determine your type of injury and its severity. During your appointment, your specialist will review your medical history and ask about the activities you were doing when the knee pain started.

You’ll also have a physical knee exam. Your Ortho OIC specialist will identify areas of pain, tenderness and swelling while testing your knee’s range of motion. In some cases, your doctor may request digital X-rays to view the inner structures of your knee and confirm injuries like fractures or dislocation.

Once your doctor completes a knee injury diagnosis, they will develop a treatment plan to help you find pain relief and ensure your injury heals correctly.

Knee Injury Treatments

Knee injury treatments depend on the type and severity of your injury. Less severe knee injuries may heal with non-operative methods, while more severe injuries could require surgery.

For knee sprains, your Ortho OIC specialist may initially recommend the RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) technique to reduce pain and swelling. The RICE method ensures your injured knee receives adequate healing time with specific measures:

• Rest: Keep the weight off your knee and avoid strenuous activities while recovering from your injury. Resting gives your knee enough time to heal and helps prevent further damage.
• Ice: Icing your knee will help reduce inflammation and pain. The best way to ice your injury is to do it in intervals, lessening the risk of damaging your nerves and skin.
• Compression: Wrapping a compression band around your knee keeps it aligned and stable. The band supports your knee while also preventing fluid buildup in damaged tissues.
• Elevation: You can also reduce swelling in your knee by keeping it elevated. Prop your leg using another chair, a stack of pillows or sit in a reclining chair to ensure your leg has enough elevation.

Your specialist may recommend taking over-the-counter pain medications and anti-inflammatories while resting to help keep you comfortable. Our specialists will ensure you receive the proper treatment, whether you have a sprain or fracture or a more severe injury, like a meniscal tear or an ACL injury.

In addition to resting, keeping your knee immobile and using medication for pain management, patients may also undergo physical therapy and injection-based treatments for knee injuries:

• Physical therapy: Your doctor may recommend physical therapy to help with your knee pain or get you used to using your knee again after surgery. Physical therapy can strengthen the muscles around your knee and help improve your balance and flexibility. Stronger knees are more stable and cause less pain.
• Injections: Medication and other substance injections also help relieve pain in your knees. Your doctor may suggest injections if they believe you would benefit from this type of knee treatment. You could receive injections, such as hyaluronic acid, corticosteroids or platelet-rich plasma (PRP).

Visit Ortho OIC for Knee Injury Treatment

Don’t let a knee injury become disabling. Our orthopedic specialists at Ortho OIC can help you recover from a knee injury, whether minor or severe. We’ll ensure you have the best solutions to relieve your pain and heal any tears, sprains, fractures or other injuries.

We have extended hours throughout the week and on Saturdays, so patients have convenient access to medical treatment. With our specialization in orthopedics, you can count on us to provide quality treatment for musculoskeletal injuries and conditions.

Whenever you need knee injury treatment, Ortho OIC is here to help. We serve patients from Washington, D.C., Bethesda, Maryland, and several areas in Virginia like Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church. You can call us to speak with a specialist or schedule an appointment at your convenience.