A bruised bone is a typical sign of injury or trauma. Symptoms may be felt in the foot, pelvic bone, neck, fingers, knee cap, wrist, shin, tailbone and ankle etc. as these are the most commonly bruised bones. Here are the symptoms, treatment and recovery time for bones that are bruised.
Bruised bone symptoms
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It’s very easy to assume that you have a regular everyday bruise if the skin appears black, blue, or even purple. The injury is able to run a little deeper, although. Symptoms that indicates that you might be having a bone bruise are:
1. Stiffness
You may have at one time noticed some stiffness when you had a bruised bone. It is very much common when the bruised bone is close to a joint. For the athletes, the knee as well as the elbows are the common injury areas and this is normally accompanied with the joint stiffness.
2. Swelling of the joint
It is one of the most common indications of a bruised bone. It is worth noting that swelling can be because of other injuries also. Sometimes, the swelling that you observe may be because of a visible bruise on the skin, and not because the bone is in any way injured. An x-ray is probably required to assist identify the real cause of the swelling.
Tenderness and also the pain lasting longer than a very usual bruise
An excruciating pain will be available when you are experiencing a bruised bone. You will have some pain at the time of the injury, and it might get even worse over the next few number of days. The pain brought about by a bruised bone can last for many weeks.
3. Trouble in use of an injured joint
A bruise that involves the knee can cause a buildup of fluid on the knee, which may be painful. Depending on how the injury occurred, you can also have damage to the nearby ligaments.
Bone bruises are able to last anywhere from a few number of days to a few months.
Commonly bruised bones
Which bones are commonly bruised? Knee caps, shins, neck, wrists, ankles and even the tailbone are common areas that are bruised.
Knee cap bruises
A bruised knee occurs due to an impact that has occurred on the knee. This can be because of a fall directly targeting the knee or even something that hits the knee, like a ball or even club. Contusion is a medical term that is used for a bruise. Symptoms include instant pain occurring at the time of injury with some bruising that can develop the following day.
The area can be very tender to touch and there can be some kind of swelling. The bruising is able to change color and begin to fade after a few number of days.
- Whilst most of the bruised knees are not very much serious, a very hard impact can result to a very intense pain and also some difficulty in moving the leg.
- If this is the case, then the medical attention should be provided soon so as to rule out any other injuries like a fractured patella.
- Whilst bruising at the knee normally happens due to an impact injury, it might also happen following a soft tissue damage, like a sprain of the knee ligament or even a strain to a surrounding muscle, normally the hamstrings.
Bruising happens because of damage to the smaller blood vessels that are within the injured tissue. The blood usually leaks into the nearby tissues, leading to a black or even a blue look under the skin. Bruising normally develops within a period of 24 hours of an injury. This can then slowly fade, looking yellow or even green as the blood dissipates
Wrist bruises
Normally, it’s a break in the larger of the two bones in the forearm. The bone can break on the lower end that is very close to the placed that it connects to the bones of the hand that are on the thumb side of the wrist. This bruises are very much common; they’re the frequently broken bone that are in the arm.
- In the United States for instance, one out of every 15 bruised bones is normally a broken wrist.
- Usually, the injuries emanate from falling onto an outstretched arm or even getting hit especially on the wrist.
Broken wrists are very much common amongst the people who play the contact sports, also the skiers, inline skaters, and also the bikers. People who have the osteoporosis or thinning out of the bones are at a high-risk for the wrist fractures. But they may occur to anyone who gets hit.
In a more serious case, the following can happen:
- The break extends much into the wrist joint.
- A small piece of bruised bone may break through the skin.
- The bone is normally broken in many places.
- Ligaments can be much torn.
These types of the broken wrists can be very hard to be treated.
Ankle bruises
Accidents however are a part of the daily life. They are the reason behind the injuries and fractures. Athletes, individuals involved in any strenuous physical chores, as well as the children are much susceptible to the accidents.
The most common affected areas are normally the elbow, hand, hand, and also the foot. Bruised ankle is a very common happening to the physically active people.
An ankle is a joint that usually joins the leg part to the foot. It is normally made up of tendons, bones, and also the ligaments. The ankle bones normally remain very stable because of the support of the ligaments.
The bones also remain attached to the muscles with the assistance of the tendons. If any of the parts are fully injured, it is medically known as a bruised ankle. Because of the excessive stretching or even straining of the muscle or even a tendon, bruised ankle happens. This occurs mainly because of the below reasons:
- Bad Fall
- Poor Jogging
- Wearing of the ill-fitting shoes
- Sudden twist of the joint while stepping on an uneven surfaces
Temporary damage that is directed to the ligaments that are nearby to any joint is one of the reasons for a bruised ankle. But, the degree of the ligament damage might vary between being mild to very severe.
Dislocation of the ankle bruised bones because of accident or even bad fall may also cause bruised ankle. Ligament tear is one of a common musculoskeletal injury in which the joints become very much unstable. Overuse or even overstraining may also cause tendon inflammation and lead to bruised ankle.
Neck bruises
Most of the people can have a minor neck problem at one time. The body movements normally do not lead to any problems, but it’s not much surprising that the symptoms will develop from an everyday wear and tear, or even an injury. Neck problems as well as the injuries commonly happen during sports activities or projects around the home.
Neck pain might feel some stiffness, or even the severe pain. Pain can also spread to the shoulders, or arms, or it can lead to a headache.
Neck movement can be very much limited, normally more to one side than the other side of the head. Neck pain are the pain that happens anywhere from the area that is at the base of the skull. The neck is:
- The bones and also the joints of the cervical spine.
- The discs that separate the cervical vertebrae and also absorb shock as a person moves.
- The muscles as well as the ligaments that are in the neck that hold the cervical spine together.
Neck pain can be brought about by an injury to one or more of the indicated areas, or it can have any other cause. Home treatment can often assist to relieve the neck pain brought about by the minor injuries.
Neck pain is normally brought about by a strain or even a spasm of the neck muscles or even an inflammation of the neck joints. Examples of the common activities that can lead to this type of minor injury is:
- Holding the head in an odd position while working, or reading.
- Sleeping on the pillow that is very much high or flat or the one that doesn’t support the head, or sleeping on the stomach with your neck having been twisted or bent.
- Stress. Tension can also make the muscles that normally run from the back across the back of the shoulder to feel tight and also very painful.
- Work or even the exercise that uses the upper body as well as the arms.
Bruised tailbone
There are several conditions that can cause the tailbone pain. Normally, the cause of the pain is idiopathic and can never be determined. Conditions known to cause coccyx pain are the following;
Trauma: This is the injury that is directed to the coccyx is a common cause of the tailbone pain.
Injury to the coccyx can cause a bruise or even a dislocation of the coccyx.
- A fall onto the tailbone in a seating position, normally against a very hard surface, is a very common reason behind the coccyx injury.
- A direct blow to the tailbone, like those that happen during the contact sports, might also injure the coccyx.
- The coccyx is also able to be injured or even fractured during childbirth.
- Repetitive straining against the coccyx (as it occurs in bicycling) may also injure the coccyx.
Less common causes of this pain are the bone spurs, compression of the nerve roots, localized infections and also the tumors.
Bruised bone in foot
A muscle contusion happens due to a blunt force injury that normally damages the blood vessels—normally the capillaries—leading to the blood to seep into any surrounding tissue, which in turn leads to the bruise to spread and even darken.
Medically speaking, a very visible bruise is a type of the hematoma which is, a collection of the blood that is outside the blood vessels, which in some of the cases might form a lump that is under the skin.
Bruises are also able to appear in any type of the tissue and a bruised foot muscle is a very common injury, more especially among the physically active people like the athletes and also the small children.
Generally speaking, the small bruises are not much to be concerned about, and in most of the cases they will disappear on their own without any type of treatment within a period of about two or three weeks.
If a bruise is very large or even severe enough, however, it can be an indication of a serious internal injury, and mild bruising may be reason for concern among the people who suffer from the conditions like the hemophilia, which might interfere with the blood clotting.
Bruised pelvic bone
A hematoma is defined as a collection of blood outside of the blood vessels. It occurs because the wall of the blood vessel has been badly damaged and blood has therefore leaked into all the surrounding tissues.
Over time the blood can clot thus forming a lump, or even a hematoma, which can require to be removed if it is large or if it is only a small the body reabsorbs it.
If the body is not able to repair the blood vessel wall where the damage has occurred, especially if it is located in a high pressure area such as a major artery, then the blood can continue to leak into the tissue thus making the hematoma bigger and thus surgery more likely.
Blood which is trapped in the body’s tissue is able to become much irritating and can lead to an inflammation, swelling, heat and also the redness. When it comes to the pelvic injury, people must be careful as there is a very major artery that is right next to the hip joint and if that happens to be severed then the mortality rate will be high.
Bruised bone treatment
When a person gets a bruised bone, it’s very hard to tell if it’s related to a serious problem that requires treatment. It’s a very good idea to get a physician’s opinion.
Seek prompt the medical attention if any of the following happens:
- The swelling won’t disappear.
- The swelling that is getting worse.
- The pain is largely increasing, and thus pain relievers aren’t much helping.
- Part of the body, like the fingers or even the toes, are turning to be blue, and numb.
Those symptoms might indicate a very severe bone bruise. Sometimes, a bone bruise is only a part of the injury. You might also have a fracture or even a break. A bone bruise on the knee could imply that a ligament is ruptured.
A severe bone bruise is able to interfere with the blood flow. It’s not very much common, but this may lead to part of the bone to completely die. If the bone thus dies, then the damage that happens is irreversible.
That’s why it’s very vital to talk to the doctor and also report the symptoms that won’t disappear. The doctor can be able to diagnose a bone bruise purely based on the symptoms as well as a physical exam.
If the doctor suspect that you have a bruised bone, an X-ray may assist to determine if you have a bone fracture or even a break, but it can’t assist the doctor to detect a bone bruise. Getting an MRI scan is the only perfect method to understand for sure if a person has a bone bruise. Those particular images can potentially indicate if the injury is larger than a bone bruise.
For a very minor bone bruise, the doctor can recommend a rest, and also the pain relievers. They can as well suggest that you take some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like the ibuprofen.
If the bruised bone is in the leg, elevate the leg to assist ease the swelling. Use the ice for about 20 minutes a few times in a day. Don’t put ice directly on the skin. Use a towel or even an ice pack.
You might also have to avoid some physical activities and also the sports until you’re completely healed. Relatively minor bone bruises might begin to get better within a few number of weeks. The more severe ones may take several months so as to heal.
Injury to a joint might need a brace so as to keep the joint still while it fully heals. If you require a brace, splint, use them as the doctor prescribes and also follow up as the doctor recommends.
Bone injuries might take longer period to heal if you smoke. Depending on the extent of injury, a physical therapist can show you how to move the injured joint so that you don’t lead to more damage.
You may require further diagnostic testing if the injury doesn’t heal as required.
You can rest for some amount of time, but it’s vital to allow the bruised bone to completely fully. Returning to the regular activities soon may make things to be worse.
Although there’s a very big variation in the recovery period, it normally takes very few months to completely heal. Most of the time, there are however no lasting problems. Complications are very much rare unless an extensive injury happened.
Tips for keeping your bones strong and healthy
Some lifestyle choices might assist your bones to be very strong and also very healthy and also improve their ability to fully heal. Follow the below indicated tips to keep the bones very healthy:
- Get a well-balanced diet.
- Do some regular physical activity. Activity is very good for the bone health, especially weight-bearing exercise.
- Always make use of the recommended protective equipment when you are playing sports.
- Bones weaken with age, so talk to the doctor about the bone health at the annual physical.
- Don’t have more than about 3 drinks of alcohol per single day. Drinking more than that might weaken the bones.
Make sure that you get enough calcium
For a good bone health, you require the right amount of the calcium. Women who are between the ages of 21 and 50, and men who are between the ages of 22 and 70 should get about 1,000 milligrams (mg) per day. The recommended amount normally increases to about 1,200 mg per single day for women after age 50 and men after age 70. Sources of the calcium are the dairy products, broccoli, as well as the kale.
Make sure you get enough vitamin D
The body also requires a lot of vitamin D to assist absorb all that amount of calcium. Most of the adults who are between the ages of 22 and 70 should get about 600 international units per day. At age 70, you should increase it to about 850 IUs per single day. Getting a little amount of sunlight each given day is a perfect way that can be used to absorb vitamin D. Egg yolks and the fortified milk are also very good sources of vitamin D.
If you don’t think that you are getting enough amount of calcium and also vitamin D in the diet, ask the dietitian if you should take a supplement.
Bruised bone healing time
For a bruised bone that’s very much visible on the MRI, it normally takes at least three months for the injury to heal fully. Some of the bone bruises take one year to heal, but that’s in very rare cases only. You are required to rest during the healing stage. Athletes should consider working with a personal trainer so as to know how they can avoid getting hit again on the same given area.
Further references
- What Is a Bone Bruise:
- Knee Contusion:
- Colles’ Fracture:
- Ankle Injuries:
- How can one treat a Bruised Ankle:
- Neck Problems and Injuries:
