Knee Injury, Purple And Swollen, Hard Feel To Touch. Should I Have This Checked Out?

Posted on Wed, 13 Jun 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 Answered on

Sat, 14 Jul 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : I fell and hit my knee on a hard surface. Now it's a purple Color, swollen and has a hard feel to the touch. Should i have this checked out?

Answered by Dr. Ketan Vagholkar (4 hours later)

Hi,
Thanks for writing in.
From your description, it is a hematoma that is a collection of blood in that region. The blood has clotted and has caused the swelling. The color changes are due to the degradation of the blood clot.
The fact that a clot big enough to cause a swelling has developed indicates the severity of the trauma. In view of the severity, it is advisable to get your knee checked by a orthopaedic surgeon in order to rule out any other intraarticular knee injury, which we may be missing here.
I hope this answers your query.
With regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Aparna Kohli