Soft Tissue Damage

Soft tissue damage can happen while doing some sports activities like running, jumping, etc. or it can result from the impact of a collision. The condition arises when one or more of the soft tissues present at the joints of the body sustain some kind of injuries but there is no bone fracture. Repeated use of the joints is another contributing factor for this kind of damage.

There are mainly four types of tissues that can get affected. They are the epithelial tissue, muscular tissue, nervous tissue and connective tissues. The common symptoms are pain, swelling, discoloration and bruising on the injury site.

What is Soft Tissue Damage?

Any form of damage to the tissues of ligaments, tendons or muscles is termed as soft tissue damage. It is sometimes referred to as soft tissue injury. Basically, there are three different forms of such tissue damage, they are strain, sprain and contusion. A strain is a form of damage where the muscle or tendon is injured mainly because of overuse or repeated overstretching. In a sprain, the ligament gets affected and is caused if it is twisted or wrenched. Such tissue damage in feet, knees or ankles often occurs due to sprain. Contusion is also known as bruise and it happens when the tissue is being hit by a blunt force that leads to damage in the underlying blood vessels. Soft tissue damage resulting from car accidents or a bad fall often results in serious contusions.

Soft tissue damage is graded into three different categories depending on the severity of the injury. A first degree damage is caused by a minor injury where the ligament or muscle get slightly overstretched. Here a mild pain is felt only during the movements or stretching of the muscles. For a second degree damage, the stretching is moderate and there are small tears in the fibers of the tissue. As a result, the ability to move the muscles becomes a painful affair and the muscle may suffer from partial loss of functionality. Even the joint tend to become a bit unstable. Third degree damage is a severe form of injury where there is a complete rupture of the tissues. It gives rise to severe pain accompanied by instability of the joint and significant loss of functionality.

Treatment

The first step of diagnosis of soft tissue injury involves physical examination and studying of medical history of the patient. The worst part of soft tissue injury is that the damage cannot be detected by the x-rays. Still, x-ray is conducted in order to rule out the possibility of any fracture. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the best method to detect damage in the soft tissues. The main aim of the treatment is to bring down the pain and improve the mobility of the joint. For the purpose of healing, the injured part should be given adequate amount of rest. It will also prevent any further injury.

Application of ice has a soothing effect on the pain and swelling. However, it should not be applied directly on the skin. It should be wrapped up in a piece of cloth so that it does not cause any damage to the tissue. It should be followed by compression of the area with tape or elastic bandage which control further swelling. The injured part of the body should be kept in an elevated condition to restrict blood flow to that area. If the pain becomes unbearable, then pain killers are prescribed by the doctors for pain management. For more severe and persistent pain, corticosteroid injections can be administered. If the tissues are badly torn, then surgery is the only option to repair the damage.

When a person has soft tissue damage, then he or she needs to avoid certain things during the first three days of the injury in order to ensure faster recovery. Heat should not be applied to the injury site as it can aggravate swelling. Massaging should also be strictly avoided as it can worsen the symptoms. One should stay away from alcohol on these days as it delays the healing process.