Bruised Bone
Quick Guide to Treating a Bruised Bone
Treating a bruised bone can be both painful and difficult. To begin with, a bruised bone can be hard to diagnose because it is not visible on a regular x-ray like a broken bone would be. The only way to accurately determine if a bone is bruised is by getting high-density MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). Treating a bone bruises is also not as easy as treating a broken bone, because a bruise cannot be set in a cast and left to heal. This type of injury has to be treated every day.
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What is a bruised bone
A bruised bone is basically a deep bruise that affects the top layer of the bone and causes bleeding directly under the bone’s surface. Bruised bones can be every bit as painful as a broken bone, but they usually have a much quicker rate of healing. Depending on treatment and how deep the bruise is, this type of bone injury can even heal in just a few days.
How to diagnose bone bruising
As stated above, a bone bruise cannot be easily diagnosed with a regular x-ray like a broken bone. Since this type of injury damages just the surface of the bone, it will only show up in high-density MRI, which can be quite expensive and kind of a big deal. One way of determining that a bone is bruised may be just to rule out a broken bone. The most important thing here is to pay close attention to the injury, especially in the first few hours.
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Both a bruised and broken bone will have the same types of symptoms. This includes extreme pain and severe swelling. With a bone bruise, there may also be a black and blue appearance around the injury. A broken bone will continue to cause a lot of pain until it is set and begins healing. The pain from a bruised bone may decrease with time as this type of injury can begin to heal within a very short time.
The best treatment for a bone bruises
There are a few different ways to treat bone bruises. The first treatment should be an ice massage several times daily. The ice will help to alleviate the swelling as well as reduce the pain. An ice massage is different than just applying ice to the wound and letting it sit there. This treatment should be done at least 3 or 4 times a day and involves taking the ice and actually massaging and rubbing the injury with it. A professional therapist will be familiar with the proper technique for this type of massage.
Pain killers are also a good idea when treating a bone bruise. For mild bruises, over-the-counter pain medicine is usually sufficient. For injuries where the pain is severe and is continuous for more than a day or two, it may be necessary to get a prescription for pain meds from the doctor.
The other treatment that cannot be forgotten is plenty of rest. That means staying off of the injured body part and allowing the bone time to heal. Rest is vital to healing in the beginning. Mild exercise and stretching can be added slowly to the healing regimen over time, but it is important not to put too much pressure on the injured bone until it is fully healed.