The thigh is the volumetric part of the body that consists of the femur (the largest in the body), a layer of muscles, fatty tissue, and skin.
This site is subjected to heavy loads, it is most involved in sports, walking, running.
Therefore, a hip bruise is a fairly common occurrence.
It is very important to assess the severity of the injury, to figure out when you can cope on your own, and when to see a doctor.
Indeed, timely first aid is the key to a quick recovery.
The most common causes of hip injury
It is possible to damage the thigh in a domestic environment, it is also one of the most common injuries for contact sports. The main causes of hip injury include:
• Hit with a blunt object. This can be a kick, a bat during a fight, or as a result of a heavy object falling: a cabinet, a hammer, an iron.
• Car accident. Damage to the thigh can be while in the car itself in a collision, although the risk is much greater for pedestrians that fall under the wheels of the car. The bumper of the car is located exactly at the level of the hip of a person, because this area suffers in the first place.
• Falling from height.
• Sports. A hip injury is one of the most popular injuries among athletes who engage in contact sports (wrestling, hockey, rugby, football).
Hip injury: symptoms
Despite the cause, the complaints are the same in patients. Only in severe cases, all symptoms are more pronounced.
• Pain occurs at the time of injury, gradually increasing. When you try to examine the bruise, touch the person feels a sharp pain.
• Puffiness. Thigh volume increases compared to a healthy limb. The affected area protrudes above the surface of the skin, forming a swelling.
• Hemorrhages. At the time of injury, damage to the skin, fatty tissue, muscles, blood vessels, nerves occurs. Veins do not withstand such a load, hemorrhages appear. If a large vessel is affected, a hematoma may form.
• Change in skin color. At the site of the bruise, redness appears, which eventually acquires a bluish tint. As you recover, the color changes to green, then yellow. This phenomenon is associated with the hemoglobin conversion cycle, which appears during the destruction of red blood cells.
• Restriction of movements. The function of the knee, hip joint suffers. When moving, lameness is noticeable, in severe cases, a person can not stand on a limb.
• If the bruise of the thigh is large, first aid was not provided in a timely manner, an inflammatory reaction may occur: fever, swollen lymph nodes.
How to determine the severity?
Treatment primarily depends on the severity of the lesion. Agree, with small scratches, bruises, you can treat the wound yourself, in a few days all the symptoms will disappear. Severe cases require medical attention. It is necessary to exclude a fracture, if necessary, introduce tetanus toxoid serum or sew a wound. These manipulations should be carried out in a hospital. To determine the severity, the following criteria are taken into account:
• 1 degree - the blow was weak, small scratches are visible on the hip, there may be a bruise, the pain is practically absent. Even without treatment, the symptoms disappear after 3-4 days.
• 2 degree - a characteristic feature is damage to the muscle layer. The bruising site is painful, swelling, hemorrhage or hematoma is observed.
• Grade 3 - the injury was so severe that the ligaments and tendons were damaged. To the above symptoms, restriction of joint mobility is added.
• 4 degree - the symptoms are dangerous to health, there is an increase in body temperature, an increase in lymph nodes.
First aid for a bruised hip
In most cases, the doctor takes some time to get to the scene. Therefore, first aid must be able to provide independently, so as not to lose precious minutes, to prevent the development of complications. With a mild degree of injury, you can cope on your own without calling a doctor.
The first point is a comfortable position. It is necessary to exclude any load on the leg. For this, it is recommended to sit or lie down comfortably, the limb should remain in an elevated position. You can use a roller, pillow.
An important step is the use of cold, as a result of which there is a narrowing of blood vessels, bleeding decreases. This procedure has an analgesic, decongestant effect. Ice, a cold bottle of water should be applied to the site of the bruise, having pre-wrapped them in a scarf, gauze, scarf, so as not to overcool the skin excessively.
To reduce swelling, pain, tight bandaging of the limb is performed. The bandage should be applied carefully, the skin should retain its usual color. If the leg turns blue, it is recommended to loosen the bandage.
Scratches are treated with an antiseptic: hydrogen peroxide, brilliant green, iodine.
If you suspect a fracture, severe bruising of the thigh, you should consult a doctor.
Doctor's actions for identifying a hip injury
Diagnosis of a hip injury is not difficult. But to prevent complications, the doctor is forced to conduct additional studies:
• Inspection of the affected area. Touching the skin intensifies the pain. The doctor is convinced of the integrity of the bones, determines the size of the hematoma.
• Your doctor may ask you to walk, raise or bend your limb. This is how active movements are evaluated. Passive doctor checks. He bends, raises, rotates with a limb with his own forces.
• To exclude a fracture, an X-ray is recommended.
• If the patient is worried about severe pain, movements are limited, and external signs of bruising are minimal, an MRI should be done. Such symptoms indicate a rupture of ligaments, muscles, skin exfoliation, intramuscular hematomas - all changes that are not visible on the x-ray.
Hip Injury: Medication
If you adhere to the doctor’s recommendations, the symptoms will decrease pretty quickly. During the first week after the injury, you can not load the limb, you need to provide it with maximum peace. But from 4-5 days the minimum charge is shown: rotation by the toes, flexion of the limb in the knee joint. Such a load will improve blood flow, will lead to a quick recovery.
To reduce edema, the leg must be kept in an elevated position. During sleep, it is recommended to put a pillow under it. Thus, the outflow of blood will increase, in the morning you can forget about edema.
Pain syndrome creates discomfort for the patient. Even slight discomfort distracts from work, makes a person irritable. To reduce these manifestations, the doctor prescribes painkillers. Preference is given to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Movalis, Nise, Nimesil, Ibuprofen). Means of this group additionally relieve edema, reduce the inflammatory reaction.
For topical use, ointments (Diclac gel, Fastum gel, Febrofid) are used. They do not have a systemic effect, affect only the focus of inflammation. It is enough to rub the gel or ointment into the thigh 3 times a day to achieve an analgesic effect.
When the main symptoms decrease, the doctor recommends physiotherapy: electrophoresis with potassium iodide, UHF, magnetotherapy. After just a few sessions, blood flow improves, hematomas, hemorrhages resolve.
Possible complications with a bruised hip
Not always a hip injury passes without a trace. In severe cases, there is a danger to health, there is a risk of infection, suppuration of the wound. These are non-specific complications. There are also specific, specific to a particular type of injury.
Hypertensive Syndrome
Each muscle in the body has a kind of case - fascia, which consists of connective tissue. A hip injury is accompanied by severe edema, muscle volume increases. Fascia is not capable of stretching, because there is a squeezing of muscle fibers, which leads to their gradual necrosis. This complication is not very common, in most cases occurs in severe cases.
Ossifying myositis
Despite the frightening name, this condition is not life threatening. It develops over several months, a person may not be aware of any changes. On the site of intermuscular hematomas in the process of resorption, islands of ossification are formed. Muscles lose their elasticity, contractile function is significantly reduced. If the sites are small, there are no manifestations. When they reach large sizes and limit the mobility of the joint, the doctor decides to remove them surgically. To avoid ossifying myositis, it is necessary to identify hematomas on time, to facilitate their rapid resorption. An important role is also played by physical activity. Already 3-4 days it is recommended to perform simple exercises, restore muscle function.
Traumatic skin detachment (Morel-Lavallee syndrome)
Under the influence of a damaging factor of great strength, detachment of the skin and fatty tissue from fascia and muscles occurs. The space that has formed is filled with blood from damaged blood vessels. Confirm the diagnosis using MRI. The treatment for this complication depends on the severity. In some cases, it is enough to make a puncture (use the needle to remove the contents), if this procedure does not bring results, surgical treatment is indicated.
