Knee
> Plica
Syndrome > Treatments
Rest
and Ice
Home Recovery
If you are suffering from plica syndrome,
you will most likely get better without having to undergo
surgery. But you will need to take steps to reduce inflammation
and swelling. One way to do this is to apply ice to
the affected area of your knee after exercise. This
can be done by using an ice pack, which can be placed
on your knee and left for 15 or 20 minutes at a time,
or by manually massaging the area with ice for three
or four minutes. Raising your knee above heart level
also will reduce blood flow to the area. It often helps
to sleep with pillows under your ankle to achieve this.
Wrapping your knee in an Ace-type bandage also may help
reduce swelling. Equally important to your recovery
is that you reduce or stop altogether the
activities that led to your knee pain. This can mean
easing off temporarily on the intensity or duration
of your workouts, particularly if they include repeated
bending and straightening of the knee.
The most important component of rehabilitation
for sufferers of plica syndrome is relative rest. This
means modifying your workouts to avoid the activities
that cause pain. For example, instead of riding a bike
or running, you could swim or rollerblade instead. Or,
if your pain is not severe, you could reduce the intensity
of your workout- for example, using less resistance
when you ride, or eliminating hills from a running workout.
Depending on how serious you are about the relative
rest and physical therapy, you may be able to return
to a normal level of activity in six to 12 weeks.
While it is always important to stretch
and strengthen the muscles around your knees, particularly
the quadriceps and hamstrings, these will not by themselves
prevent plica syndrome, which is primarily caused by
overuse. However, you may be able to reduce your chances
of recurring plica syndrome by avoiding a sudden increase
in activities that require repetitive motion that irritate
the plicae, such as cycling or using a stair-climbing
machine, and instead, easing into a routine.
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