My husband has had sciatica nerve pain for a couple weeks and his doctor told him to prop his leg up. He props it up with his heel resting on a kitchen chair and his leg is almost straight up for 2-3 hours before bed. He came home today and his knee was swollen and the skin on the inner side of his knee was blue under the skin. I think broken blood vessels. Is this problem connected to sciatica nerve problem? Is he propping his leg up too straight, almost verticle? He also has hypertension (under control). He is 78 yrs. old & walks every day weather permitting. What is your opinion?