When to see your GP

You should see your GP if:

• you cannot put weight on your knee at all
• you have severe pain even when you're not putting weight on it, such as at night
• your knee locks or painfully clicks (painless clicking is OK)
• your knee keeps giving way
• you're unable to fully bend or straighten your knee
• your knee looks deformed
• you have fever, redness or heat around the knee, or it's very swollen
• you have pain, swelling, numbness ortingling of the calf beneath your affected knee
• the pain doesn't start to improve within a few weeks or you havepain that's still severe aftera fewdays of caring for your knee at home

Your GP will do a careful examination of the knee and take your medical history. They may also arrange further tests such as blood tests , an X-ray or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to help identify the problem. In some cases, you may need to be referred to an orthopaedic specialist.