If your knee hurts a little for a few days, don't worry but do treat it right. Overuse and acute injuries can crop up in any runner's life. When pain is severe, swelling obvious, tenderness very focused or any symptom persists, it's time to consult a doctor. If you simply twisted a knee or ran extra miles, try RICE and see if your knee soon returns to normalcy. Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation can do wonders for simple injuries.
Rest
Stop running. This is terrifically hard for a runner to understand. Rest means not running, riding a bike, swimming with flutter kick, walking slowly around the block, working out with leg machines or taking a low-impact aerobics class. It means that, for once in your life, if you can walk somewhere, drive instead. Ask someone nearby to fetch your sandwich and drink. Rest for two to four weeks, until the swelling and tenderness are virtually gone.
Ice
As soon as you can, chill your knee. Shield your skin from frostbite with a layer of fabric and apply an ice bag to the area of pain and swelling. Keep it there 15 to 20 minutes at a time, eight or more times a day. Commercial cold therapy packs and wraps are easy to carry. Bags of frozen vegetables work well and can be refrozen. Fill your hydration bladder or drysack with chipped ice for a dripless chill.
Compression
Also reach for your old friend, the elastic bandage. Wrap firmly but not so tightly that you restrict blood flow. Stores stock a variety of motion-limiting knee braces, in addition to compression bandages, air casts and light splints. If you need more help than a drugstore compression bandage or knee brace can provide, it's time to make an appointment with your doctor.
Elevation
Keep it up, preferably above your heart. Elevating your knee above the heart allows fluids to drain into the body's disposal system. This step works sympathetically with the "rest" step, because most people must recline to get a knee that high. Elevation is useful for the first few days after the injury and often provides speedy pain relief.
Time for the Doc
Runners injure knees by ramping up training precipitously, twisting, stumbling or during some other activity. Several knee conditions with swelling and discomfort can benefit from diagnosis and treatment by a health professional. Visit a doctor if you cannot move your knee, you cannot bear weight on it, the joint buckles, you have a prior injury, swelling or pain (or both) is severe, the area is numb or it shows radiating streaks under the skin.
