orleander, oviously it doesnt matter now but out of intrest why didnt you try RICE?
Rest
Ice (15 min every 2 hours if possable)
Elivation (just sit them up on a chair)
Compression (a heavy duty rollor bandage is best for this)
It would have stoped the build up of odeama and there for the build up of pressure. Actually that pressure can be a real problem, if it builds up above the pressure in the arteries (or even just the cappileries) it can cause whats called "compartment syndrome". This means you lose perfusion (glucose, O2, removal of waste ect) from that section and below