Most often, a bruised lower leg occurs due to a direct hit or fall.
In order to quickly recover from such an injury, you need to know about the rules of first aid and the treatment of bruised lower legs.
This will be discussed in this article.
Shin bruise: symptoms
Immediately after a leg injury, the victim will suffer from severe pain. In this case, the pain syndrome will be so pronounced, then a person may lose consciousness.
Also, with a bruised shin, the victim may experience the following symptoms:
1. Lameness.
2. Swelling in the soft tissues.
3. The formation of a hematoma.
4. Limitations in leg movements.
5. Exacerbation of pain within three hours after the injury (as a rule, the pain intensifies along with an expanding hematoma and edema).
6. The formation of bruises or bruises under the skin.
7. Intensive hemorrhage under the skin (with damage to blood vessels).
8. Tendon rupture.
With a bruised shin, it is very important to determine that this is precisely an injury, not a fracture. If the integrity of the bones is damaged, the victim will experience the following symptoms:
1. Bone crunch.
2. Complete loss of joint mobility.
3. Deformation of the lower leg (bulging from the skin of the bone or part thereof, improper bending of the leg, etc.).
4. The formation of an ever-growing hematoma.
5. Very acute local pain in the fracture zone.
Shin bruise: first aid
After a bruised leg, the following first aid should be provided to the victim:
1. Set the person on a chair.
2. Inspect the lower leg. If there is an open wound on it, then it is necessary to rinse it with hydrogen peroxide and treat it with antiseptics. Put a sterile dressing on top and bandage it.
3. Apply something cold to the affected area (ice, frozen foods, etc.). It will help relieve spasms in the vessels, as well as stop the development of pain and hematoma.
It is important to keep the ice for no longer than ten minutes in a row so as not to cause hypothermia.
4. Lay the sore foot on an elevation so that the foot is above the level of the pelvis. This is necessary to restore normal blood circulation.
5. Completely exclude any load on the leg within three days after receiving an injury. Also during this time you need to regularly pin cold compresses to the lower leg.
In addition, it is very important in the first days after a bruise not to apply any warming compresses or ointments to the leg, since heat will further increase the swelling and pain of the victim.
Shin bruise: diagnosis
If a person after a leg injury can move it (mobility is partially preserved), then, most likely, he was limited only to a bruise. Despite this, to obtain more reliable information, you need to contact a traumatologist.
After the examination, the doctor will prescribe the following diagnostic procedures:
• MRI (the procedure will show the condition of the muscles and soft tissues in general, especially if a person has a hematoma);
• X-ray (will show the condition of the bone);
• Ultrasound of the lower leg (will make it possible to see in detail changes in the tissues for bruising, rupture of blood vessels and tendons, etc.).
Shin bruise: treatment
The treatment of a shin injury depends on the degree of soft tissue damage and the extent of the injury.
If a palpable hematoma is detected, the patient needs to apply a compressive dressing on his lower leg with a cold compress. It is recommended to rewind the entire leg with an elastic bandage.
If the hematoma does not resolve within the first two days after damage to the lower leg, then it will have to be removed surgically, otherwise it can cause inflammation of the soft tissues and their decay.
As a drug therapy, the patient may be assigned the following groups of drugs:
• analgesic drugs to reduce pain (Ketanov, Dexalgin);
• anti-inflammatory drugs;
• antipyretic drugs at high temperature (Nurofen, Analgin);
• topical decongestants (Diclac gel, Dolobene gel).
To accelerate the recovery period and reduce pain, immediately after a bruise, it is important to apply a fixing brace on the lower leg and foot. She must completely immobilize the leg.
Sometimes after a bruised bruise, the patient's nerve gets pinched. Because of this, the patient is worried about acute pain and swelling of the limb. To eliminate this phenomenon, he is prescribed a therapeutic massage, as well as cold compresses with ice.
After reducing pain and hematoma, the patient is allowed to make warm compresses with alcohol infusions.
If after an injury a person has partially lost mobility in the joint or he has developed paralysis, then in this case it is necessary to conduct a surgical audit and restore the function of the limb as soon as possible.
After a five-day course of drug therapy (with stable improvement in the patient's condition), he is prescribed a rehabilitation course. It includes massages, thermal treatments, compresses and physiotherapy.
In the treatment of shin bruise at home, you can apply the following recipes:
1. Tincture of garlic:
• grate two heads of garlic on a grater;
• pour it with apple cider vinegar;
• pour the mixture into a glass dish and close it tightly;
• put insist on three days;
• rub the finished product into the shin twice a day for a week.
2. Wormwood recipe:
• chop fresh wormwood;
• Lubricate the site of the injury twice a day with its juice.
3. Ointment for the treatment of shin bruises:
• take the burdock root and chop it;
• pour olive oil (1 cup);
• put on fire and heat;
• strain and apply to the affected area of the bruise.
4. Camphor ointment:
• grind one black laundry soap;
• add half a glass of alcohol and 30 g of camphor powder to it;
• add a glass of lamp oil;
• mix everything and apply to the bruise in the form of a compress.
5. The recipe for relieving edema:
• mix water, vinegar and vegetable oil in equal amounts;
• soak the finished mixture with a gauze dressing;
• apply to the diseased lower leg for two hours every day.
6. Tar agent:
• take spruce resin, birch tar and unsalted lard;
• mix everything in equal amounts;
• leave the ointment for two days;
• after that, with a ready-made product, lubricate a sore shin. You can apply a bandage on top.
It is important to know that it is possible to apply alternative recipes for the treatment of the lower leg only after consulting with your doctor. Self-medication without supervision is not recommended, so as not to harm yourself.
Shin bruise: what will happen if left untreated
With untimely medical care rendered, a bruised shin can lead to such complications:
1. Necrosis (necrosis) of certain areas of the skin. Most often, it happens with severe trauma to the soft tissues. Necrosis alone cannot pass. It must be removed surgically.
2. Periostitis is considered one of the most dangerous complications. Usually it occurs when the anterior zone of the tibia is damaged, since it is there that the bone is least protected by soft tissues. With periostitis, a person begins a strong inflammatory process, which is accompanied by acute pain and high fever. It can be treated only with strong antibiotics, which are selected for each patient individually.
3. Phlegmon is another complex disease that can develop due to untimely treatment of a shin injury. With phlegmon, a person has a strong inflammatory process in the soft tissues, which is accompanied by abundant purulent discharge. It provokes staphylococcus and streptococcus, which can be introduced not only into the muscles, but also into the joints, bones and ligaments. Phlegmon treatment is carried out with medication, surgery and physiotherapy. With severe damage, there is a risk of amputation of the limb.
4. Partial or complete loss of joint mobility can occur when a severe hematoma has not been eliminated in time. Because of this, the victim may become lame.
5. Chronic pains in the lower leg and arthritis can develop when refusing rehabilitation, since during the treatment a person did not step on his leg for a long time, there was no load on his sore joint. This can lead to inflammation, as well as damage to cartilage.
For these reasons, immediately after a bruised leg, it is very important to seek medical help and undergo a full course of treatment. Otherwise, a usual bruise can lead to the development of complex pathologies in the musculoskeletal system.
