Question

Mrs. X was getting out of her car, when she slammed the car door on her knee, hurting it quite badly, even though there was no broken skin or bleeding. The knee became very swollen and painful within the first couple of hours of the injury, making it difficult to walk, so Mrs. X went to an emergency room to check her knee.

Explain what happened here at the cellular level (use the inflammatory reaction cascade to answer step by step).
When Mrs. X came to the ER, the X-rays of her knee were taken, revealing no fracture. Doctor recommended ice packs to help reduce the swelling. What is the purpose of the ice packs? Explain at the cellular level.
The doctor also prescribed Ibuprofen for inflammation and pain. Explain how that helps at the cellular level.

Answer 1

Part 1 :

When the body tissue is harmed the immune system reacts with triggering inflammation, this is known as inflammatory reaction , the harmed cells discharge chemical messengers like histamine, prostaglandins etc,these chemical messengers causes vessels liquids to moving into the tissue causing swelling, these chemical compounds also attracts white platelets, proteins, antibodies to the injured site, swelling help in isolation of outside substance from further contact with the body tissue, in addition the excess fluid on site will help shield the harmed tissue from further injury. The phagocytes at the harmed site assists with phagocytosing dead or infected cells,and a discharge is released in form of pus containing dead phagocytes, dead cells, dead bacteria and dead tissues.

Part 2:

Applying cold packs on the swollen area or injury site causes vasoconstriction and helps reduce swelling by restricting blood flow to the area, and also causes reduction in cellular metabolism .thereby reducing inflammation and swelling that causing pain on injury site, It also help in deceasing the nerve activity around the site ,thus helps in the reduction of pain .

Part 3 :

ibuprofen is Non-Steroidal Antiinflammatory drug ,it is used  in response to pain or inflammation.In body during inflammatory response ,a chemical substance known as Prostaglandins which are responsible for the sensation of pain. Antiinflammatory drug like ibuprofen blocks the enzyme Cyclo-oxygenase which are responsible for the release of Prostaglandins, and decreases the levels of Prostaglandins .Thus pain sensation and inflammation is reduced.