# Should I Fight the Swell?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fight-the-swell/434982>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [January 25, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fight-the-swell/434982 "2008-01-25T17:34:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fight-the-swell/434982/1 "2008-01-25T17:34:06Z")

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Knee injury question - I don’t need medical advice, I know you are not a doctor, etc., etc.

I hurt my knee somehow two nights ago, and last night it started collapsing on me. No pain otherwise, just when it decides to suddenly not support me. I injured my other knee a year or so ago, and so I wrapped it in my Trusty Knee Brace and am now walking like I have a peg leg.

I looked at it before my shower this morning, and there is some limited swelling above the knee cap. Should I take some naproxen to bring the swelling down?

I usually take no medication of any kind, since I have the personal theory that, generally, your body know what to do. So if I have a cold with a small fever, I take nothing, figuring - burn, baby, burn.

What’s the basic purpose of swelling? Should I just monitor it for now, or fight against eons of evolution?

Thanks!

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**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fight-the-swell/434982/2 "2008-01-25T19:18:22Z")

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Have you tried ice?

And if it doesn’t settle down in the next few days, I’d think about getting it looked at if I were you (well, I’d probably see about getting it looked at sooner, but I have a weird right knee).

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**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fight-the-swell/434982/3 "2008-01-25T20:25:10Z")

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[QUOTE=whiterabbit]  
Have you tried ice?  
[/QUOTE]

ICE is better. 😃

I - Ice, the frozen stuff.  
C - Compression.  
E - Elevation.

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**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fight-the-swell/434982/4 "2008-01-25T20:32:39Z")

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[QUOTE=Duckster]  
ICE is better. 😃

I - Ice, the frozen stuff.  
C - Compression.  
E - Elevation.  
[/QUOTE]

So is swelling bad, all the way around? I thought that sending blood to an injury led to speedier healing?

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**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-fight-the-swell/434982/5 "2008-01-25T20:43:41Z")

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[QUOTE=Duckster]  
ICE is better. 😃

I - Ice, the frozen stuff.  
C - Compression.  
E - Elevation.  
[/QUOTE]

RICE is even better.

R - Rest