Hey today when i went to play ball, once i went in i didnt warm up, just started playing one on one with a friend and after like 10 minutes i took a jumpshot and when i jumped and came down i felt my knee like really strain up, it felt like my muscles just strained and pulled together. maybe it was cause it was cold and i didnt warm up? it just happened out of no where, during the day before i played ball i could feel that left knee feeling a little heavy, like there was a lot of weight on it, i dont know what should i do? it doesnt hurt now unless i jump or really bend down all the way. should i ice or what? please help
Depending on where the pain is felt it could be a number of things, could be a ligament strain, do not know where the exact pain is so I could not tell you. If indeed it is a muscle strain for the first 72 hours you are going to want to Ice and compress. This is going to reduce the swelling. You may also want to take some sort of an antinflammatory such as ibuprofen. The key was to getting ice on it right away and compress. This can cut recovery time a tremendous amount.
After the first 72 hours it is crtiical to begin to start working the muscle using pain as a guideline. Many people neglect this and in doing so risk injuring the muscle once again. If you neglect the injury and do nothing scar tissue will build where the injuired site is. Scar tissue is strong but less flexible and can cause the strain to happen a second time a lot easier. however by doing exercises such as Marching A’s etc using pain as a guideline you are avoiding the buildup of scar tissue and allowing the muscle to heal properly. Continue to ice after doing light exercise. You can continue just icing or start a contrast of ice heat ice heat. Do not place heat on the injury site for the first 72 hours as it will cause blood to rush to the site which is something you do not want.
Also many different individuals have different opinions, I have had my share of injuries and recovered pretty quickly. I am not a doctor or a physiotherapist they will give you the best advice.
hope this helps
Stiver
but its not swollen, its like around the top of my knee