Thigh Bruise

[Scipio_Africanus]

If I could get some info, it would be appreciated.

10 days ago I hit a tree while snowboarding. It looked like the attached photo at Day 5. If you make a line between the scabs, that is the angle at which I hit the tree. How I did not break my femur, I don't know.

The bruise is fading nicely. However, there is what feels like a sandwichbag full of water under the skin over the impact zone. Is this natural? If so, how long is it going to take to recede?

Thanks in advance.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Looks like you got a contusion (I think)...or is it a hematoma? I can't remember really what the apporpriate name is and I'm not a doctor by any means, but I can say I've had this same thing happen to me twice in the 5 or 6 years so I can tell you what my experiences were:

1. About 5 years ago I came crashing down on my hip launching a table in a Bir Air comp on the east coast. The landing was solid blue ice and came down from pretty darn high up. My left hip and thigh looked pretty much the same as your pic and in the middle was a "watery pouch" thing that you described. I went to a docter about a week or so after and he basically said that fluid from the trauma was trapped inbetween layers of fascia and that it would go away with time. It was so bad though that when he did see it, he ran out to the hallway and called a few of his colleagues in yelling, "Hey guys! C'mon over here you gotta see this! " Anyway if it didn't clear up on its own he said I might want to consider getting it drained. Luckily it just went away...took about a month though. However, to this day, if I land on that hip the wrong way, the pouch thing comes back for a short time. Again, doc says that there's just some internal scarring in the fascia & tissue there and it's gonna happen.

2. Second instance happened about 3 years ago. I had a ragdolling fall and my binding wacked my in the thigh. Again, it looked pretty much like your thigh does now. In fact, within 5 minutes of the trauma, my thigh looked like a balloon. Alternating combo's of heat/ice over the few weeks /month eventually made everything drain and fade away.

What does all that mean? Aside from me being injury prone...I dunno Maybe get your doc to check it out if you're that concerned.

[Scipio_Africanus]

Thanks Man,

I've had all kinds of injuries including breaks, sprains, and dislocations. But this is first time I've had this kind of reaction. My MD looked at it last week but I don't think she sees many traumas. She did not have much to offer.

Again thank you for your time.

Scip.

[Vinman]

Basically tyrone hit this one on the head. The watery feeling just onder the skin is blood that has leaked out from the muscle and is now trapped between the skin and the fascia. If left alone it will subside, but very slowly. You might consider getting it drained. And you may need it to be drained more than once as more blood leaks into the space that was just emptied.
I worked with a basball player once with a contusion like this and he ended up getting it drained 2 or 3 times.

As far as other treatments go. Now that it is over a week old, go with heat and stretching. Hot baths or hot tub would be perfect. You need to get your range of motion back or you could be at risk for developing a calcification in the muscle (Myositis Ossificans)not good). If you are having trouble getting your ROM back ask your doc for a therpy Rx. They can do some ultrasound on the area to help break up the hematoma and assist you in stretching.

good luck