Bruised knee: how to provide first aid and what should be further treatment?

Legs are part of the body most prone to injury, one of which is a bruise. Bruises are called soft tissue injuries caused by severe strokes. A bruised knee injury is one of the most common injuries among people of all ages: from children just beginning to walk to the deeper old people.

The cause of household injury is most often a blow against a hard surface due to a fall or a direct blow to the knee area. Sports injuries occur with a sharp deviation of the tibia and are often combined with ligament ruptures.

A knee injury can pose a serious threat to overall health, up to the loss of the ability to move independently. Among the consequences of injury are pain and / or limited mobility of the damaged joint.

In some cases, the damage is a trigger for the development of osteoarthritis of the knee joint, and the consequences of the trauma may appear several years after the incident. The probability of post-traumatic complications depends on the severity of the injury and the age of the victim. The older the patients, the longer the recovery and more frequent complications.

Symptoms and Diagnosis

In response to any knee injury, an inflammatory reaction develops immediately.The severity of symptoms of traumatic knee inflammation depends on:

• localization of damage;
• force of traumatic impact;
• the angle of application of force, which caused injury;
• area of ​​damage;
• severity of injury.

With a strong impact of the knee, hemarthrosis is often formed - the accumulation of blood in the joint cavity. Intensity of a hemorrhage in a joint in many respects defines external symptoms of a bruise of a knee joint and the remote consequences of a trauma.

Symptoms:

• post-traumatic edema;
• hematoma at the site of injury;
• pain in the joint, from mild to unbearable, increasing when trying to flex-unbend the injured joint and press (in severe cases - pain shock);
• difficulty in mobility of the joint;
• difficulty in self-movement, with severe injuries, the victim can not do without outside help.

After a severe impact, a part of the victims are diagnosed with combined injuries, in which the injury is combined with intra-articular ligament ruptures, displacement or patella detachment.

First Aid

What if the injury did occur?In the first minutes after the injury, the injured knee should be freed from tight clothing and cold applied.Cooling narrows the blood vessels, which stops the development of edema, hematomas and hemarthrosis. Otherwise, with severe swelling, the likelihood of additional trauma when undressing is increased.

The injured joint should be provided with the greatest possible rest. The injured leg should be placed as high as possible, with very limited movement possible to call an ambulance.

Mandatory manipulation is the fixation of the joint in the physiological position by means of a tire.Applying a pressure bandage in the absence of skills can only do harm, since the severity and nature of the injury without diagnosis is not known exactly.

The course of further recovery after injury largely depends on how quickly and correctly it was possible to provide first aid.

Treatment

When a patient enters the trauma department, the doctor takes the following measures:

• puncture of the joint;
• anti-inflammatory therapy of NSAIDs;
• local therapy;
• physiotherapy treatment.

Puncture of the joint - a puncture of the soft tissues of the joint with a hollow needle.It is performed to suck blood flowing into the joint cavity. Puncture helps to remove puffiness and pain, reduces the risk of developing long-term effects of trauma.

Anti-inflammatory therapy is used to relieve the pain syndrome and relieve the symptoms of inflammation.To treat the knee in medical practice, use analgin, voltaren, indomethacin.

For local treatment, drugs that improve blood circulation, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and chondroprotectors are used. Nonsteroid preparations in the form of ointments contribute to the reverse development of edema, relieve pain. Among the well-known are Diklak ointment, Diclofenac, indomethacin ointment.

Chondroprotective drugs for general and topical administration are prescribed to improve trophism and restore connective tissue.Chondroprotectors of the latest generation, in addition to collagen, contain anti-inflammatory and analgesic components and have a complex effect on the body.

To restore damaged vessels and destroy microthrombi, the use of heparin ointment or lyoton is recommended.

Physiotherapeutic treatment may include electrophoresis with hydrocortisone, magnetotherapy, UHF.It is used to accelerate the resorption of hematomas.

When detecting hemarthrosis, an X-ray examination or MRI is always performed to detect damage to the bone, ligament apparatus, meniscus. If any are found, the patient will need arthroscopy. Surgical intervention is also required in cases of recurrent hemarthrosis.

Folk remedies

With knee injuries, you can use folk remedies, but not earlier than 24 hours after the injury, when the threat of re-development of the edema disappears.

For compresses you can use tincture of oregano and mother-and-stepmother.For its preparation take 20 grams of chopped grass and pour, l vodka. Infuse for 3 days, apply as a compress at night.

For treatment is suitable and tincture of hops.It is prepared from 100 g of vegetable raw materials, filling it with 400 ml of vodka. You can use tincture in two days.

Effective compresses from plantain or wormwood.Fresh grass should be grinded to a homogeneous gruel and applied to the affected area. As the compress is drying it should be moistened or changed.

In winter, a dry ointment can be used to prepare an ointment.For this, the grass is ground, mixed with petroleum jelly, pork fat or butter, tinned in the oven for 3-4 hours. After cooling with ointment it is possible to use. It is rubbed into the affected area 3-4 times a day.

The seeming harmlessness of a bruised knee joint is deceptive. Self-medication can lead to serious consequences up to disability, therefore to neglect the qualified help is extremely undesirable. The use of traditional medicine should be agreed with your doctor.