Knee contusion - should I participate in football practice?

Question

On Friday I suffered a knee contusion in football practice. I landed on it real hard and it swelled up real big. I continued practicing and landed on it one or two more times (it hurt more and more). I iced it several hours Friday afternoon, and have taken anti-inflammatory medication (naproxen) twice a day since then (today is Sunday). It is still very swollen and sore to the touch. I have football practice tomorrow morning, I'm wondering if I should participate or not. I know it will hurt if I land on the knee again. Anyone have any suggestions--how long I should rest it, whether I should participate, or any experience with knee contusions and re-aggravating them? Our first game isn't for almost 2 weeks...should I rest it to avoid possibly re-aggravating the injury and missing more time? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

You should get your knee checked out before returning to football practice.  If you school has an athletic trainer, go see them first.  I would be concerned that your injury is worse than you think, contusions swell, but not as much as you descibe.  Since you landed on it hard, I would be concerned about the possibility of ligament damage.  Anyway, it's better to get it check out than doing further damage by playing hurt.