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Should I Rest The Leg For Extreme Bruising And Sore Leg After Getting Tissue Injury?

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Posted on Sat, 14 Dec 2013
Twitter Sat, 14 Dec 2013 Answered on
Twitter Fri, 3 Jan 2014 Last reviewed on
Question : I fell over a hard plastic box in the carpeted lounge & hit my left shin about 6 ins from ankle area. I had severe neuropathic type pain in the area & it was very bad for approx. 10 mins of crying with pain. I have had peripheral neuropathy from a type of ms. in the past (not from diabetes as I did not have that at the time but have just been diagnosed recently as borderline after many tests over years.)I put very cold water compress on it for about 1/2 hr.and it improved but very sore. I slept with legs up for approx. 6hrs with feet up and gauze pad and loose bandage.After awakening it felt sore but I could weight bear still so I walked in my small way & shopped with help. 14 hrs later I still have very sore leg and extreme bruising about 3"x2".Should I rest the leg or keep trying to walk & keep moving? I do not want to cause problems with ulcer formation etc there is a very small scratch where skin broken, otherwise intact .I am a 67 yrs. old female.
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Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (50 minutes later)
Brief Answer: resting it would be best Detailed Answer: HI, thanks for using healthcare magic It would best to rest the leg for the next few days as much as possible. The mnemonic after an soft tissue injury is R.I.C.E. This stands for rest, the application of a cold compress which you did, compression of the area with a bandage or stocking if there is any swelling and elevation. You should consider going easy for at least 2 to 4 days as needed.Persistent movement would aggravate the area and impair healing In addition to the above, you can also consider the use of anti inflammatory pain killers such as ibuprofen, cataflam or naproxen. These anti inflammatory medications would dampen the pain for you. I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson

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Practicing since :2001

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Should I Rest The Leg For Extreme Bruising And Sore Leg After Getting Tissue Injury?

Brief Answer: resting it would be best Detailed Answer: HI, thanks for using healthcare magic It would best to rest the leg for the next few days as much as possible. The mnemonic after an soft tissue injury is R.I.C.E. This stands for rest, the application of a cold compress which you did, compression of the area with a bandage or stocking if there is any swelling and elevation. You should consider going easy for at least 2 to 4 days as needed.Persistent movement would aggravate the area and impair healing In addition to the above, you can also consider the use of anti inflammatory pain killers such as ibuprofen, cataflam or naproxen. These anti inflammatory medications would dampen the pain for you. I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions