Dr. Timothy K. Durnin - 1/8/2008

Question
I was skiing recently and was abruptly taken out by a snowboarder and then slammed into a snow maker.  It took a few minutes, but after removing a few blocks of ice and some help, I got up and did two more runs.  But it felt like I had pulled a muscle in my right buttocks and got a nasty whack across my left medial thigh muscle, just above my knee.  

The thigh/knee swelled up for a few days and was extremely stiff  but has gone down now, but is still a bit sore to use for long periods of standing.  I've got a wee bit of a limp, but I'm hiding it from family and bosses.  It is still getting hot and feels like a knot in my muscle.  It kinda threw me a bit because there is no bruise.  Hurts like the dickens, but no visible bruise.  Why is that and how long can I expect my thigh muscle to be sore and weak?

My buttocks is another story.  Do strains cause bruising?  I've got one the size of a coke can and all the colors of the rainbow.  Red in the center (looks like streaks)blue, purple, green, yellow....all I'm missing is orange (I'm sure it'll show up eventually).  Granted, I can at least sit on that cheek now (had to for the flight back to FL), but it's one nasty looking thing.  I swear it felt like a pulled muscle when it happened, but I've never had pulled muscles bruise before.  Do they normally do that?

Other than ice, stretching, Motrin, and cursing snowboarders, is there anything else I should do for my bruised and battered body?  I appreciate your advice!  Thanks!

Answer
Hi Sara,

Anytime there is bleeding under the skin you'll get bruising and not necessarily over the injury site.

Example, if you rupture and ankle ligament, more often than not, the ankle will only be swollen but the foot will severely bruise but be painless. My point is, bruising doesn't tell a doctor a whole lot by itself, it only shows sub-dermal bleeding from someplace. I recommend continuing what you are doing and if the symptoms persist, get it checked out by a professional DC, DO, or MD that you trust.

With a fall like that, many other subclinical things could have happened that you presently are not aware of, these issues can be detected with x-ray and a good hands on physical orthopedic examination.

Ice is the biggest thing you can do on your own to improve your situation, but you will heal, the problem is, will it heal correctly? This only a professional can tell you after seeing you in person.

Good Luck!

Dr. Timothy Durnin