What to Do in the First Few Days After a Knee Injury
Intro
A knee injury can happen in a split second — a bad landing, a twist, a collision — and in the hours that follow, most people don't yet know whether it's a sprain, a meniscus tear, or an ACL injury. That uncertainty is normal. What you do in the first few days, though, can genuinely affect how smoothly your recovery goes, regardless of the eventual diagnosis.
The body God has designed carries a remarkable capacity to protect and heal itself in this early window — our job in these first few days is simply to give it the right conditions to do that well.
(If you suspect this may be an ACL injury specifically, see [What is the ACL?] for a fuller explanation of the ligament, mechanism of injury, and next steps.)
⚠️ Seek Emergency Care First
If you could not continue playing, or could not walk normally after the injury, get an X-ray as soon as possible to rule out a fracture before starting anything below.
⚠️ Watch for a Mechanical Block
If your knee feels locked or stuck, do not force it — this can signal a displaced meniscus tear or loose fragment and needs prompt assessment. Pain or stiffness alone, without a true block, is generally safe to gently push through.
🧿 PROTECT & Settle
In the first few days, the priority is calming the knee down, not pushing through it.
- Protect — Crutches may be needed to offload the knee while walking
- Rest — Avoid activities that stress the injured knee
- Ice — 15–20 minutes every 2–3 hours, always cloth-wrapped (never directly on skin)
- Compress — A circumferential knee bandage helps control swelling
- Elevate — Keep the leg raised above heart level when resting
⏰ Early Exercises
3 sets, 2–3 times daily
These three exercises are safe to begin in the first few days for most acute knee injuries. They're designed to preserve motion and prevent the thigh muscle (quadriceps) from shutting down — a common and frustrating side effect of knee injury that can slow the whole recovery down if left unaddressed.
1. Heel Slides — Preserves knee extension
10 reps
- Sit on the floor with your injured leg straight, and loop a towel around your foot
- Slowly slide your heel towards your bottom, keeping tension on the towel throughout
- Hold 5 seconds at the top, then slowly straighten back out — you should feel a stretch at the back of the calf
2. Quad Stretch — Keeps quads supple
3 reps, 30 second hold
- Stand near a wall for balance, or lie on your side
- Bend your knee and gently hold your ankle behind you
- Feel a gentle stretch along the front of your thigh — hold 30 seconds, and don't force the bend
3. Quad Set → Straight Leg Raise (SLR) — Wakes up the quads
10 reps, 5 second hold
- Sit on the floor with your injured leg straight, with a rolled towel placed under the knee
- Press the back of your knee gently down into the towel and tighten your thigh muscle
- Hold for 5 seconds, then relax fully before the next repetition
- Feeling a strong quad contraction? Progress to a Straight Leg Raise (SLR) — keep the thigh tight and lift the leg to 45°
When to See a Specialist
If, after a few days, you're still experiencing significant swelling, instability (the knee feels like it might give way), or you're unable to fully straighten or bend the knee, it's worth having it assessed properly. Many knee injuries — including ACL tears — aren't obvious from pain alone in the first few days, and an early accurate diagnosis makes a real difference to how recovery is planned.
[CTA block — book an appointment]
Dr Mok Ying Ren, Consultant Sports Surgeon, NUH
📱 WhatsApp: +65 9159 7760