Extensive soft tissue bruising, which is almost always inevitable with back injuries, is a very dangerous condition. If you do not provide adequate first aid, you should prepare for chronic pain and circulatory disorders. Treatment of a back injury at home should be carried out after consultation with a traumatologist. In some cases, appointments by a neurologist, surgeon, and orthopedist may also be required.
Classification of Back Injuries
Modern traumatology distinguishes the following types:
- Bruises in which there was no pinching of the nerves or damage to the spinal cord.
- With spinal cord injuries, these are the most dangerous ones that can lead to many health problems.
- Injuries that led to damage to the skin and soft tissues of the back.
- Bruises that affect only bone tissue, but not muscle.
- Back injuries, which are accompanied by a dislocation or fracture of the vertebrae.
Each of these injuries can cause serious health consequences. Vertebral fractures can leave a person disabled for the rest of their lives. Damage to the spinal cord can cause complete or partial paralysis.
Bruises that did not cause spinal cord injury
This is one of the safest injuries. You should feel the place of the back injury for a tumor, examine for the presence of a hematoma. If they have a place to be - the best cold remedy. Put ice or frozen meat at the site of the injury - the best solution.
Should I contact a traumatologist if a bruised back after a fall did not bring any visible consequences? Yes, a professional examination is necessary, as the following health problems are possible:
- bruises of the kidneys (should be wary if there is an admixture of blood or pus in the urine);
- rupture of organs (spleen, kidneys, adrenal glands, bladder);
- rupture of blood vessels in the abdominal cavity, which will lead to internal bleeding;
- cartilage injury;
- vertebral fractures;
- fractures of ribs.
Due to the strong shock, pain may not come immediately, but develop only with time. First aid in the form of applying ice to the bruised area will not help the condition of the internal organs.
Spinal cord injury
How to determine if the spinal cord was damaged during a bruise? It is difficult to do it yourself. If in addition to pain there is loss of consciousness, nausea, vomiting, inappropriate behavior - you should definitely take the patient for examination. Most likely, radiography or an MRI will be required.
In any case, if there was a lesion of the spinal cord during a fall, the consequences will not be long in coming:
- numbness of one or both feet;
- violation of signal processing of muscle work;
- cramps, cramping ankles;
- loss of sensitivity of one or more fingers;
- partial or complete paralysis;
- involuntary urination.
Even if you do not immediately diagnose spinal cord damage, all these symptoms will not allow a sick person to lead a previous lifestyle. Disability will be impaired and in any case, you will have to consult a doctor.
Damage to the skin and soft tissues
These are the relatively harmless effects of a bruised back. Hematomas occur most often in the thoracic spine. If the bruise occurs in the lumbosacral region, hematomas can form on the sides and in the lower abdomen. S30.0 - such is the ICD code of 10 contusion of the back (lower part of it) and the pelvis. The main danger of this condition is the possibility of damage to organs and internal bleeding.
First aid - apply cold. Pay attention to whether there is blood and pus in the excreted urine and feces. If available, you should immediately contact the emergency room, as the development of internal bleeding is possible, which in some cases causes death.
Treatment of a bruised back in the fall, which did not cause any serious health problems, involves the use of ointments, creams, compresses. It is undesirable to use funds with red pepper in the composition, which cause a rush of blood to the site of injury. The list of the most effective ointments is presented below.
Dislocations and fractures of the vertebrae
Severe swelling at the site of the bruise, severe pain, numbness of the limbs and complete or partial paralysis - all these symptoms indicate a possible fracture or dislocation of the vertebrae. This is a very serious condition that requires immediate hospitalization.
In order not to delay the doctors before providing first aid, they should be briefly informed about the details of the injury: from what height and at what angle the injuries were received.
Back injury ICD10 - S30.0. But the fracture will be marked already with the S32 code, which implies the receipt of the first disability group. It is unacceptable to treat such conditions at home - you should definitely go to the first-aid post, and if the patient is immobilized, call an ambulance team.
First aid
First aid algorithm for severe back injury:
- if the patient experiences sharp pain - it is forbidden to touch, turn over, lay him before the ambulance arrives;
- if the patient is able to move and walk on his own, ice or any other ice object should be attached to the site of injury;
- at first it is forbidden to use warming ointments and compresses;
- you can not do massage and forcefully press on the area of the back that has been injured;
- You can’t try to drag the patient from place to place, if it hurts, this can aggravate the situation;
- try to call the ambulance brigade as soon as possible or, if the injury seems insignificant, to report to the emergency room yourself.
In what cases can you do without medical care?
As mentioned above - a severe back injury can cause damage to internal organs, internal bleeding and death. So even if the bruise seems insignificant and the patient almost does not feel pain, you should check the condition of the internal organs just in case.
The least dangerous blows and bruises in the area of the ribs and chest (although they can cause fractures of the ribs and injuries of the liver, spleen, pancreas).
The most dangerous injuries of the lumbosacral, there is the spinal cord, if it touches - it is possible full or partial paralysis, impaired functioning of the nervous system. It will be difficult for a person without a medical education to determine for himself whether the spinal cord has been damaged. If in addition to pain there is loss of consciousness, nausea, vomiting, inappropriate behavior - you should definitely take the patient for examination.
Which doctor should I go to?
After the examination, the traumatologist is likely to refer the patient for consultation with relevant specialists. It can be an orthopedist, surgeon, neuropathologist. If the spine was affected, another vertebrologist will be required. This doctor is involved in the treatment of diseases and injuries of the spinal column. If the kidneys are damaged during the injury, contact a nephrologist or urologist. If the organs of the gastrointestinal tract were affected, you need to consult a gastroenterologist.
If the patient did not immediately contact the emergency room, and after one to two weeks, problems with well-being started, you should take a coupon for an appointment yourself.
What kind of research is needed?
A bruised back in the fall is a serious injury. Most often, several studies are needed in order to assess the consequences.
- MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is a modern and safe method of research. Allows you to assess the degree of damage to the spinal cord and bone marrow. With the help of MRI, it is possible to assess the state of muscle tissue. In some cases, the results of tomography should be followed by surgery. Also in the picture you can capture the state of the vessels.
- Radiography for bruises on the back is carried out in several projections. A picture on the one hand is most often small to produce an accurate clinical picture.
- CT (computed tomography) allows you to assess the condition of bone tissue. If the spine was affected or the patient is tormented by acute, unbearable pain - this study should be carried out. It is painless for the patient and does not have any health consequences, unlike x-ray (during which the patient receives a portion of radiation).
The principles of home treatment
Rarely does anyone know how serious a bruised back can be when falling. Home treatment may be ineffective. Almost all patients do not attach much importance to such injuries, and then for the rest of their lives they suffer from the consequences of an unsuccessful fall.
- With severe pain after a back injury, pain medications can be used at home. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs will best help. For example, Solpadein. If the pain persists, more powerful injectable painkillers should be used. However, they are most often sold by prescription.
- In order to reduce swelling and minimize the formation of hematomas, ice should be applied to the site of injury. Any frozen meat products are also effective in this regard - they thaw for a long time, and cold therapy can be arranged for twenty to thirty minutes.
- Use ointments, creams and compresses. The most effective ones are listed below. In order to prevent complications, it is not recommended to use funds with a warming effect in the first three days after an injury.
The use of ointments, creams and compresses
Recipes for home compresses for back injuries :
- Boil green beans. Grind in a blender or just a knife until a homogeneous consistency. Lubricate the sore spot, fix with a bandage, rinse off in the morning.
- Mix 120 ml of 6% vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of table salt. Moisten a cotton cloth in the solution and put on the damaged area for half an hour.
- Pour 100 g of cones of hop 0.4 l of vodka, insist. Use as a disinfectant or compress solution.
Pharmacy ointments with the effect of anticoagulation are effective. It is impossible to allow delays and accumulations of blood in subcutaneous fat and muscle tissue. Turpentine and heparin ointments, "Badyaga Plus", "Finalgon" - all these funds are effective to reduce swelling of the bruise and reduce pain.
How to treat a bruised back if severe pain occurs with each movement? Most likely, the vertebrae were damaged and at home you can only aggravate the patient's condition. You should immediately contact the emergency room.
Restrictions and rules that should be followed after a back injury
Forbidden within a month:
- lift weights of more than three kilograms;
- to do weightlifting;
- to perform jumps, somersaults and other easily athletic exercises;
- stay on your feet for more than an hour in a row;
- abuse alcohol (which may lead to new injuries).
You should lie down and rest as much as possible. Walk no more than an hour a day. Long walks and sports are prohibited in the first month after receiving a back injury. If these simple rules are not followed, complications are possible.
Possible consequences of a bruised back in the fall
The list of likely consequences even after a slight bruise :
- circulatory disturbance;
- pinched nerve vertebrae;
- injuries to internal organs;
- internal hematomas and hemorrhages;
- partial or complete paralysis of limbs.
Household injuries most often do not pose a threat to life. Bruises in the workplace are completely different. They often cause disability. It is necessary to carefully observe safety precautions and in no case carry out hazardous work while intoxicated. Back injuries can fundamentally change a state of health.