Knee pain...any help please?

[jizzles]

I am having this pain in my knee, I will explain:

Exercise – Leg press machine
Pain area – Center of knee
Which knee – Only noticed in my left knee
Previous knee problems – No

I always gradually work myself up to my max on leg press. I’ll do 5 – 8 reps of 5 lower weights, then 5 reps of what I can get up for 5. I use the Cybex machine now because the only free time I have to go to the gym, the incline leg press in the weight room is always crowded, it’s a small gym. The Cybex plates go in increments of 20lbs, so I start at like 250lbs and work up to 330lbs. The 250lbs was my max when I started doing this so I have seen in increase of what I can lift. But, just recently when I get up to the 330lbs, I noticed a pinch in my left knee, it’s not a horribly bad pain. I was able to bring the weight back down easily. But, for the next few days, it was painful just to carry laundry up and down the stairs. I only felt the pain when I used my left leg to push my body up. So, I gave my knee a week or so off, I just did upper body workouts. When I noticed my knee was no longer sore, the soreness was gone for three days, I tried leg pressing again. The pain came back. I went home and put some Ben Gay Joint Relief stuff on it and the pain/soreness went away.

I am going to go see a doctor, I want to have a physical and blood work (cholesterol) checked out, so I am adding this to my list.

If I get a knee support, what exactly do they do, like what do they help with?

Was a week off not enough time off? What is a good amount of time off for a lifting related injury?

I have read the other "knee pain" posts, but I had a few more questions I wanted to ask.

Thanks for any help!