knee arthroscopy and football

Hi
I had knee arthroscopy carried out on the 2nd of december 2011 to repair some damage to the lateral meniscus. the meniscus was very badly torn and some of the meniscus had to be cut away. I have tried to stick to a very serious rehab programme. i started back training with the football team 4 weeks ago as my knee was feeling very good and strong. I have been recently on the bench in the last couple of games and have been playing for around 15 min at the end of games just to build my confidence up. Therefore on tuesday night i ended up playing 70 min of the game, the knee never hurt whilst playing and still dosnt hurt now however the day after the game my knee swelled up a bit and still has a bit of swelling around it. i have been icing my knee and takeing ibruprofen. I am just wanting to know if this swelling is normal after playing football for the first time and what is the procedure to deal with it.

Thanks reading
Daniel

It's not unusual to have swelling but it is a sign the joint is being traumatized. I recommend cutting back to where you can play without the joint swelling, and, particUlarly,there should be no swelling the next day.

from my expereince lat men takes a lot longer than med men to rehab. i agree you should cut back and have a more graduated return to football plan. 15 mins to 70 too big a jump. ice it and settle it and then a more gradual return, icing after every step until you get to 90 mins over further 2-4 weeks.

Also, check out an item...we use Coreflex Knee Cryo Pneumatic Pump. It's like a blood pressure pump you put around your knee with an ice gel pack. Pump it up and elevate your leg for 10-15 minutes, and you can often remove persistent swelling and inflammation. However!! Don't use this as a method to do more, with faster relapse. Use it smartly for rehab.