Overuse of joints may lead to pain and effusion which are surprisingly slow to settle. For example, unaccustomed long periods of walking or even standing, particularly on hard or uneven ground, can sometimes cause bruising of the cartilage within the knee. A clue as to cause is what activities or movements exacerbate the pain.
The main treatment for overuse is rest and ice packs, using the duration of discomfort as a guide. Analgesics can be used for symptomatic relief but it is unwise to use these, including NSAIDs, to disguise pain as oedematous cartilage is softer than normal and may therefore wear more readily. Sometimes splinting of the joint eg the wrist can help.
The possible long time scale - often months - should be explained if the patient returns with persistent symptoms of an injury which is not due to other causes.
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