Injury of soft tissues of the leg: treatment, drugs and ointments, consequences, photos and reviews

Injuries occur in humans everywhere. Often they appear on the legs. It can be bruises, fractures, dislocations. The main characteristic of a bruised leg is the absence or slight damage to the skin. It is important to know how to help a person. The article talks about the treatment of soft tissue injury of the leg.

Causes

Legs are more likely to be injured, as they bear the main burden. It's connected with:

• fall;
• a blow to stupid objects;
• blows when playing sports;
• car accident.

These are just the main causes of bruised legs. According to reviews, this leads to uncomfortable sensations, so first aid and effective treatment are required.

According to classification

Injuries of the soft tissues of the leg according to ICD-10 are distributed depending on the site of injury. For example, knee and lower leg injuries are included in section S80-S89. Injury of soft tissues of the leg according to ICD-10 code S00-T98.

Other types of injuries are indicated in international qualifications . ICD-10 soft tissue hematoma of the shoulder - code S40.0. This section identifies superficial injuries. The ICD-10 code for soft tissue injury of the shoulder in section S40 is in 1st place. Other types of injuries are indicated in the classification. For example, a bruise of the soft tissues of the cheek according to ICD-10 - code S00.8.

Feet

This part is injured with an active lifestyle - in children, athletes, lovers of active rest. Foot tissues are damaged with the fall of a heavy object, with a large load on the fingers. Bruised heel is dangerous in that it manifests itself as a crack in the calcaneus. This is a complex injury that requires a long and thorough treatment.

In this part of the leg there are tendons, nerves, blood vessels, many small bones. You should always check if they were hurt. This will turn out when contacting a doctor. With a bruised foot, consultation with a traumatologist is necessary. According to reviews, only a doctor is able to determine the condition after an injury.

Shin

In this case, severe pain appears, since nerve fibers are located on the front of the lower leg. The periosteum, including the nerve endings, is close to the surface, so even with mild strokes they will be sensitive. With severe bruising, there may be pain shock and loss of consciousness.

This injury differs from a fracture of the tibia, in which pain and severe swelling appear, as well as deformation of the lower leg and impaired function. Restore the condition allows medical assistance.

Soft fabrics

On the legs are some of the strongest muscles of the body: the quadriceps femoris and calf. During strokes, blood vessels are damaged and hemorrhages in the muscle tissue appear. With injuries of small vessels and capillaries, the intensity of symptoms decreases rapidly, the prognosis is usually positive.

Damage to soft tissues with internal hemorrhage is dangerous only when large vessels rupture. Usually strong blows or prolonged squeezing, in which neurosis of the muscle area and vascular thrombosis develops. The consequences are quite serious: long-term treatment is necessary and this leads to complications. The severity of the condition is not always determined by the size of the hematoma, since large arteries and veins are in the deep layers, and hemorrhage does not occur on the skin.

Bruising with swelling

With any injury, edema appears. But sometimes after a bruise, the legs swell strongly. Edema becomes intense and very disturbing. For bruises with edema, it is necessary to check whether there are serious injuries - a fracture and dislocation.

Manifestation

According to the comments of traumatologists, soft tissue damage with internal hemorrhage is common. Many people have experienced bruised legs at least once. Depending on the severity, they can be bright or slight:

1. Pain. This symptom appears with any bruise. Pain is expressed when hit with the front of the leg. Often, these injuries occur with a bruised bone, involvement of the periosteum, and prolonged pain. A person may experience pain shock and loss of consciousness. In the future, the intensity of the symptom decreases. This is considered a difference from a broken leg bone.
2. Redness. This is a reaction to cell damage. First, the skin turns pale due to reflex vasospasm. Redness occurs later. A person feels that the bruised area is hot.
3. Hematoma. With a vascular injury, blood is poured into the tissue, bruising areas appear. Probably, each person was faced with the appearance and a gradual color change from blue to pale yellow. Small superficial hematomas are not hazardous to health, they are able to dissolve on their own. With severe bruises, a rupture of deep vessels appears, hemorrhage not only in the muscles, but also in the joints. These injuries are unpleasant and seemingly unattractive, as seen in the photo. Treatment of a soft foot injury in the leg should be thorough; sometimes a surgical method is required.
4. Edema. By the severity of this symptom, an assessment of the severity of the person's condition takes place. Edema may be in the form of a slight swelling that does not cause discomfort. With severe edema, extensive tissue damage appears. If part of the joints is captured, then their mobility is impaired. With edema, compression of the surrounding tissues occurs, pain increases. The dynamics of reducing edema determine the effectiveness of treatment and carry out a prediction of the consequences of a bruise.
5. Impaired function. It depends on the severity. With slight bruises, the person only limps. After heavy, it is difficult to step on the foot.

In the presence of severe injuries, a violation of the general condition of a person occurs. There is a weakness, the temperature rises with a massive crush of soft tissues.

Diagnostics

Before treatment of a soft foot injury, diagnostic procedures are performed. To establish this type of injury is not difficult. Often this is done by the patients themselves. The physician needs to establish the severity of the damage and check if there are any bone fractures or dislocations of the joints that require special treatment tactics.

The clinical criteria for severity include the appearance of:

• pain intensity;
• severity of edema;
• joint involvement, in which recovery is delayed;
• cyanosis of skin color not only in the area of ​​injury, but throughout the limb;
• temperature changes.

The exact diagnosis will be obtained with an X-ray examination. It is prescribed for bruised legs. The procedure allows you to show the integrity or damage of bones and tendons. According to reviews, diagnostic procedures allow you to more accurately determine the diagnosis than a simple examination of the site of injury.

Treatment

How is soft foot tissue treated? The success of therapy is determined by the correctness of the action in the first minutes after injury. First aid is as follows:

1. The patient needs to lie down, and slightly lift the damaged leg. This reduces tissue swelling.
2. A tight bandage should be placed on the bruised area. A leg is fixed with it, which is important when there is a risk of a fracture or dislocation. For this, a standard or elastic bandage is used. It is important not to disturb the microcirculation by tightly rewinding. If after a few minutes the places below the bandage turn blue, it must be removed and loosened.
3. With slight damage to the skin, a disinfectant treatment and a bactericidal patch are required.
4. Cold compresses can eliminate pain and swelling, reduce hematoma. For this, ice cubes and a bottle of cold water from the refrigerator are used. Suitable cold objects that fall under the arm. It is necessary to do this in the first minutes after the injury in order to stimulate vasospasm and prevent the hematoma and edema from spreading. Cold should be kept no more than 10-15 minutes. After 2 hours, a repeat procedure is required.
5. How to treat soft tissue bruises with severe pain? In this case, light painkillers are used (Analgin, Paracetamol, Ibuprofen). You can use analgesic injections after appointing a doctor and checking for the absence of a fracture and dislocation.

By following these rules, it will be possible to quickly eliminate the bruise and prevent serious consequences. Judging by the reviews, these measures help adults and children.

Traditional therapy

Treatment of bruises of the soft tissues of the leg can be independent with minor injuries if minor symptoms are manifested. In other cases, you must contact the emergency room. When injuring a child, a doctor’s consultation is required. The treatment is as follows:

1. For the acute period, peace is necessary. It is necessary to walk less, leaning on a cane. With severe bruises, especially on the back of the foot, a langeta is applied.
2. How to treat soft tissue bruises with pain and inflammation? In this case, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used. If bruises of mild to moderate severity are found, then they are used in the form of ointments. In severe injuries, systemic medications are used. The most effective include Movalis, Celebrex, Nise, Arkoxia. They have few side effects.
3. Thermal exposure is required. After 3 days from the injury, when the risk of bleeding is eliminated, thermal procedures are used to accelerate the healing and resorption of the hematoma. Dry heat is used for bruises with edema and extensive hematoma. It uses a warm heating pad, applications with paraffin, a blue lamp. The duration of the procedure is 40 minutes 1 time per day.
4. Gymnastics is considered mandatory from 2-3 days. First, the exercises should be gentle, you need to increase the intensity as you recover. With the help of gymnastics, it will be possible to prevent contractures in the joints, improve microcirculation, restore leg function.
5. Physiotherapy is performed, which are considered effective in the treatment of bruises. A soft tissue tumor is eliminated with them , pain is reduced. The bruise is faster and rarely leads to complications. Magnetotherapy, UHF, electrophoresis, laser therapy, amplipulse are used.
6. Massage is performed after 7-10 days. Lymphatic drainage technique is prescribed when the edema and large hematomas are not able to resolve themselves.

When the doctor's recommendations are followed, uncomplicated bruises disappear in 14-21 days. If unpleasant symptoms are felt or the bump does not disappear on the leg, then this indicates complications.

Home treatment

You can perform bruising of soft tissues of the leg at home. It is only important to follow the recommendations provided by the doctor. Only with physiotherapy and special massage do you need specialized help. Common patient errors include:

1. Strong rubbing of the affected area. This effect only enhances the bruise and can lead to thrombophlebitis.
2. A very tight dressing with which blood circulation decreases and partial death of cells appears.
3. The rapid expansion of motor activity. It is advisable to go on sick leave for the recovery period. With an active attack on the leg, a brace must be applied to maximize the reduction of injured muscles and joint movements.
4. Excessive use of painkillers. They have serious side effects, manifested only with the uncontrolled use of drugs.
5. Treatment with folk remedies without consulting a specialist. According to reviews, many use alcohol compresses, which have a warming effect, which resolves the hematoma faster. But it is necessary to take into account the concentration and exposure time, otherwise a burn of the skin is likely.

All alternative methods of treatment should be agreed with the traumatologist. Only then will it be possible to prevent complications.

Compaction treatment

If after treatment, there is a lump on the leg or a lump appears that does not disappear, then an urgent need to see a doctor to determine the causes of this phenomenon. Usually they are associated with complications. Treatment is carried out only in a hospital, since surgical intervention and constant medical supervision are usually necessary.

Complications

The negative consequences of a soft tissue injury of the leg appear with severe injuries, improper treatment, or concomitant ailments that lead to a decrease in immunity and tissue repair ability. Complications include:

1. Calcification of a hematoma. With this phenomenon, on the site of an extensive hematoma, some cells of muscle tissue are not restored, but become bone. Then there will be a densification in the soft tissues. Nerve endings are compressed with it, and this place hurts a lot.
2. Thrombophlebitis. With a severe contusion of a vein, its elasticity is violated, the wall is injured, which creates a risk of a blood clot. This is a dangerous complication in which thromboembolism and death are likely. A person has a small bump at the site of injury. In these cases, you need to contact a traumatologist or vascular surgeon who decide on treatment.
3. Abscess. With a decrease in immunity with large hematomas in the muscles, there is a risk of infection of its own microflora. It forms abscesses. Usually they are localized on the calves or thigh. A person has an increase in body temperature, severe pain, intoxication. Treatment is performed with antibiotics, surgical excision of painful tissues with the creation of drainage, which provide an outflow of pus.
4. Periostitis. This is inflammation of the periosteum. Appears on the front of the lower leg. There is severe pain, body temperature rises. An x-ray shows a small lump on the bone in the area of ​​the bruise.
5. Long lasting pain. This condition appears when refusing rehabilitation. In the absence of a long attack on the leg, the metabolism in the tissues slows down. When the load is resumed, the foot cells cannot cope with the function and hypoxia appears. This leads to pain in an almost healthy leg. So chronic bruises or fractures act. The main method of eliminating discomfort is to constantly increase the load.

These complications with bruises appear less frequently than with fractures and dislocations. The prognosis of this injury is positive. But this does not mean that one should take bruises lightly. If the doctor’s recommendations are not followed, secondary trauma can lead to serious conditions and permanently deprive a person of an active life.