Knee Pain

Hi Im 15, While yesterday in a basketball game, the back of my leg was hurting for like most of the game and then i fell once on my knee really hard and again and my knee went in a little the second time. (all with my right knee) So all night i iced it and took a 500mg naproxen. Also i couldnt move it. There was a  sharp pain going up my leg. Then this morning i could bend it a little and also i had basketball practice and went to my trainer and she sent me to practice on it and really didnt look at it. Now my leg is stiff and after walking on it my leg has this pain going up my leg in the back and its very uncomfortable. So what could have happened and is it anything serious or do i just need to rest?

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, without a clinical evaluation it would be difficult to determine the cause of your knee pain. Possibilities that may need to be considered include muscle fatigue, lactic acid build up causing pain in the muscles, knee issues such as tendonitis, bursitis, stress fractures, injuries to the internal knee ligaments/ menisci, infections/ inflammations, arthritis, muscolo-tendon injuries, cyst formation, growths etc. I would suggest consulting an orthopedician for an evaluation and appropriate management. Meanwhile you may try resting the leg with some OTC NSAIDS to relieve the pain.
Hope this helps.

Take care!