Bruised Bone

Bruised bone can be a result of an injury or trauma caused due to a minor or major accident. Sports activities are also among the most common causes of bone bruises. A bone bruise is known to be quite painful and often takes a long period of time to heal completely. Our bones have a cortex, within which there are interconnected fibers. Calcium fills the space between these interconnected fibers. When your bone hits something, it leads to breakage of these fibers which further causes leakage of the contents held between them. Bone bruise is a result of breakage of small number of these fibers. Remember, this is just a step before a fracture. In case of a fracture, there is breakage of a number of fibers.

The terms 'bone bruise' and 'bone contusion' are often used interchangeably. Bruised bones can be of different patterns. Most of the bone contusions occur due to some traumatic injury to the bone. It may or may not be a non-articular or joint bone. Sometimes, even the cartilage is affected in the injury, resulting in lesions like osteochondral lesions and transchondral lesions. Another set of bone lesions that are also categorized as bone bruises are called occult bone lesions. These lesions are not visible during MRI. Sportspersons happen to suffer the most from such bone bruises.

How to Identify a Bone Bruise

Bruised bone can be an extremely painful condition. You will experience a lot of pain around the injured bone. Swelling and stiffness of this part is also a common symptom of this condition. In some cases, there might be skin discoloration, which usually appears reddish or purplish. However, there might not be any visible sign of an injury. Also, the area would feel tender when touched. You won't be able to continue the normal movement of the affected area.

How to Treat a Bone Bruise

As stated before, healing time of a bruised bone can be really long in some cases. The swelling and skin discoloration would be cured in a few days, but you might not get relief from minor pain. In severe cases, healing can also take more than six months. Here are a few treatments for bone injury that would help you get relief. The first step is to get the affected area checked by your doctor. He might probably recommend an X-ray. Bone bruise cannot be identified in an X-ray, but it will definitely confirm whether there is a fracture or not. This will help your doctor prescribe further treatment for the injured bone.

The first thing you need to do in case of a bone bruise is to rest the affected area. Do not indulge in stressful physical activities that might worsen the condition. Also, make sure that you move this bone slowly and carefully when required. Elevating the area soon after the injury will be helpful. Also, do not keep the area wrapped with any type of bandage. Regular application of ice packs on the bone injury is helpful. Fill a zip-lock bag with crushed ice and wrap it in a towel. Apply this over the affected area, at least twice a day for not more than 20 minutes at a stretch. This will help relieve the pain and reducing the swelling and discoloration. Intake of vitamin C and vitamin K supplements can be helpful in healing the injured bone.

Doctors usually prescribe a painkiller medication to ease out the discomfort. Also, continue taking other medications regularly, as prescribed by your doctor. You will be suggested by your doctor to do minor exercises without weights for the required range of motion to aid the recovery process and strengthen the joints. Keep a watch on the affected area and note any other problem that you might experience. Make it a point to tell your doctor about it. Sometimes you might also experience infection around this area leading to pus formation. Consult your doctor immediately and do not try to drain it using a needle.

In case of severe pain or if there is no improvement in the condition, an MRI might be recommended by your doctor. Remember that you must consult a doctor even in case of a minor bone injury to avoid any development of complication due to ignorance at the first stage.