Contusions, sprains, tears of leg ligaments

Bruises and sprains of the leg ligaments, as well as internal ruptures, are among the most common forms of damage to leg tissue. They can bother a person as an independent injury, or they can be accompanied by other injuries that are more difficult to bear. For example, fractures, damage to the skull, chest and other parts of the body. By what symptoms can you recognize dislocations and bruises of the legs and how to provide first aid to a person in these conditions?

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Bruises

These leg injuries are the most common, since with the current lifestyle, few people specifically develop foot flexibility. Leg bruises occur if a person falls from a small or even large height or is hit with some object (not sharp). Doctors most often diagnose subcutaneous fat bruises, but bruises of internal organs also occur, and quite often. This is a more serious nature of pain. For example, with a brain bruise, lung bruise or heart bruise (this also happens), the consequences can be very serious, even fatal.

A leg bruise can be independent, or it can be combined with these serious injuries - heart, other internal organs. A leg bruise can be recognized by such symptoms as pain in the leg (any part of it), a bruise can appear immediately at the site of the bruise, or it can appear a little later. A hematoma or swelling can also be a consequence of a leg bruise.

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When does pain from a bruise occur?

It can appear in the leg instantly, or there may be a situation where a person is in a state of shock and will feel the pain from the bruise a little later, when the stressful situation passes. With a bruise, the pain can last for several hours, and then it changes its character from strong and sharp to dull and aching. After a few hours, the pain after a bruise should go away, but the pain after a fracture - no, it will only get worse. This can distinguish a bruised leg from a fracture.

Swelling and hematoma

Swelling on the leg after a bruise can increase over the course of 24 hours. It is small at first, then becomes larger and larger. To prevent swelling from being so large, ice should be applied to the bruised area initially - this will reduce inflammation of muscle tissue.

A hematoma is a hemorrhage in soft tissue. How big and scary the hematoma will be depends on the depth of the blow. If the skin is bruised and the subcutaneous tissue is affected, the hematoma can be noticed immediately. If the blow penetrated deeply, the hematoma will be visible on the surface of the leg only on the second or third day after the injury.

The hematoma gradually changes its color depending on how much time has passed. If the hematoma is fresh, it is red, then it becomes crimson, and then blue and dark blue. And finally it becomes greenish-yellow, and then disappears. Therefore, by the color of the hematoma, you can easily determine how long ago the injury to the leg occurred. In particular, its bruise.

Can a person walk after a leg injury?

It depends on how severe the bruise was. If the bruise was too severe, the person immediately starts limping. Otherwise, if the bruise is not very severe, the walking function is not immediately impaired. But as the swelling and hematoma increase. Swelling of the legs may also occur.

The pain is such that a person cannot step on the injured leg or bend it, or can bend it, but with the help of another person. Or a person's leg hurts, he can walk, but limps. With a fracture, a person cannot walk independently and step on the injured leg - either. He can only walk with the help of crutches. Therefore, by the impairment of the walking function, it is possible to distinguish a fracture from a bruise.

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What to do if you get a bruise?

Bruises are much easier to treat than fractures and sprains. To reduce the development and manifestation of bruises (hematomas), you need to apply ice to the injured area. It is better to wrap it in a towel so that the ice does not flow. Ice should be applied for 15 minutes, then a 10-minute break and then apply ice again. The person needs complete rest, do not disturb the injured leg.

If there is no ice, the injured leg can be placed under a stream of ice water for about 5 minutes, then removed from the water. And then again - under a cold stream. If you are outside in the cold season, for example, in winter, then you can put snow on the injured leg and bandage it with a cloth on top. The bandage should be pressing - this will make it possible to stop the development of a hematoma. This will also help reduce pain when moving. The bandage is needed as soon as possible after a person has injured his leg. To avoid swelling or to keep it minimal, and also as a preventive measure against edema, a special position of the injured leg is needed, it should be placed so that the foot is above the level of the heart.

Leg sprains

A sprain can occur in a person when the movement of a joint is greater than it can withstand, and in a direction that is not typical for the joint. First of all, doctors diagnose a sprain of the ankle joint. This happens if a person twists their leg. When the leg is twisted, a sprain of the ligaments can initially be confused with a bruised joint. Why? Because the leg hurts, it swells, and a hematoma (bruise) appears on it. But it is even harder for the joint to move than with a bruise, and the pain can be stronger. With a sprain, it is difficult for a person to move at all.

What to do with sprains?

It is very difficult to treat them without medical help. You need to make sure first that there is no fracture of the leg. In case of a fracture, the swelling can be very strong and appear immediately, and in case of a sprain, it appears gradually. In case of a fracture, part of the bone can be felt under the skin or the fracture can be open, when the bone is clearly visible.

When a sprain occurs, the bone remains in place, but the ligaments are stretched. Cold should be applied to the injury site immediately to reduce swelling and edema, and a pressure bandage should be applied.

Medicines for stretching

Anti-inflammatory and painkillers are usually best used for sprains only after consulting a doctor. If you are in conditions where there is a high risk of getting a sprain, for example, at a ski resort or on a hike, you should definitely take a first aid kit with such drugs. This can be Indovazin (it consists of anti-inflammatory and painkillers), as well as Diclofenac, and Fastum-gel can also help well. These drugs are externally acting, they are made in the form of gels or ointments.

They need to be applied to the area that was injured. The skin must not be damaged, otherwise you cannot apply gels and ointments. If a person does not tolerate non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, these ointments cannot be used either.

Torn ligaments of the legs

A ligament rupture is a ligament injury that may occur on its own or in combination with other injuries: bruises, sprains, fractures. Then complex treatment is required. Most often, a ligament rupture occurs in the ankle or knee area – the knee joint is also damaged.

When ligaments are torn, there is severe, sharp pain, as well as hematomas, swelling, the joint cannot move, the injured person's leg swells. A side effect may also be hemorrhage into the joint (it has a void inside). When blood pours into the joint, it swells, hurts even more, becomes much larger than it should be.

If you press on the popliteal joint with your fingers, the joint drops inward - while it should, on the contrary, spring and stay in place. Dropping the joint inward by 1-2 cm indicates that the joint is damaged. There may be blood underneath it that has accumulated as a result of the injury, it resembles a soft cushion under the joint itself. This is why the kneecap seems to float on this cushion, sliding. This is quite painful - the natural position of the joint is disrupted.

Leg muscle rupture

A leg muscle rupture occurs when the legs have experienced a very strong load. This can be a heavy weight falling on the leg, excessive time and increased load during training, a strong and rapid contraction of the muscle, as well as a blow to the muscle that is contracting or tense at the time. If the muscle is injured at this time, the person experiences severe and very sharp pain.

As a result, a hematoma appears on the leg, which constantly increases, the leg swells, and edema may develop. The muscle function is completely impaired at this time, the person cannot move the injured leg, because every movement causes pain. If you get a rupture of the thigh muscle, a person cannot even bend the leg at the knee, let alone lean on it.

Most often, doctors diagnose muscle ruptures in the gastrocnemius muscle, the thigh muscle, and the biceps brachii muscle.

If the leg muscle is completely torn, then at the site of the rupture a small pit or depression appears, which is also very painful, and the muscle completely loses its functions. If the rupture of the leg muscle is incomplete, then a hematoma appears in the area of the injury, pain with the slightest pressure, the leg may hurt, but the muscles may partially continue to work.

Rupture of the tendon of the legs

The tendon ruptures with a strong load on the legs, a fall, an injury. When the tendon ruptures, the pain is not as strong and sharp as with other injuries. A person notes a fairly moderate pulling pain, which stops after a while. Where the leg is injured and the tendon is torn, the area of the leg swells.

It seems to a person that due to slight pain and damage is not severe. But no. When a tendon is damaged and torn, the muscle completely stops working. The leg does not bend or straighten, it is impossible to stand on it. If the tendon of the finger is torn, then the finger cannot be bent - not because of pain, but because the functions of the finger are impaired. But if you bend the finger with your hands, it will work.

What to do in case of tears, bruises and sprains?

The symptoms of bruises, ruptures and sprains are very similar, so all these traumatic conditions are easy to confuse with each other. All these injuries cause pain, hematomas, swelling, and edema. Therefore, for treatment, it is best to immediately call a doctor, and in no case tolerate pain. The doctor must do an X-ray to understand what exactly is happening in the person's body. What is it - a ligament rupture, a tendon sprain, or maybe a bruise?

How to distinguish a crack from a bruise?

Can this be done to distinguish a crack from other traumatic injuries? The fact is that either a fracture or a crack, unlike a sprain, is the periosteum, the integrity of which is compromised. This means that the slightest pressure on this area causes severe pain due to the huge number of pain receptors in it.

To determine whether there is a fracture or crack in the periosteum, you need to find the sign that indicates it - the symptom of the periosteum axis load. If you press your fingers or lightly tap the leg bone not in the transverse, but in the longitudinal direction, it will hurt a lot. Stepping on the leg in which the bone is damaged will be very painful. But you can step on the leg that is bruised, although pain will also be present. You need to immediately consult a doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

Basic information about first aid for injuries

What should be done first in case of injuries? What kind of help should be provided to a person before the doctor arrives in case of a bruise, sprain, ligament or muscle rupture in the leg?

• The leg should remain at rest.
• The injured part of the leg should not be exposed to vibration, shaking, the person should not be moved if possible
• A bandage should be applied to the damaged area - a pressure and soft one
• Ice should be applied every 15 minutes with a break of 5-10 minutes for 3 hours.
• In the first 2-3 days, do not apply heat to the damaged area: heating pads, warm compresses, rubbing

It is imperative to call a doctor for diagnosis and thorough professional treatment, especially if the pain increases.

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