A stumble on the forest path, a wrong step on the stairs, an awkward movement during sports – ankles are quickly sprained, ligaments strained, muscles bruised. Even if the injury is not always visible, it almost always causes pain. What you should do after a bruise or strain is explained in the following article.
Bruises and strains: blunt injuries.
Injuries that do not involve external bleeding or open wounds are referred to by medical professionals as “blunt injuries.” They are particularly common in the musculoskeletal system – that is, the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones – and occur as contusions, strains, dislocations, contusions, or fractures (although the latter two can also occur as open injuries).
Causes of contusions and strains
Bruises and strains can have different causes, as shown in the following definitions:
- Contusion (Contusio): a contusion is caused by blunt force trauma, i.e., a fall, blow, bump, or impact. A typical sports injury is contusion of muscles, ribs and joints. However, abdominal organs, the eyeball or the brain can also be affected by a contusion.
- Strain: This refers to damage caused by overstretching or tiny tears in fibrous structures. If the capsule-ligament portion of a joint is affected, one speaks of ligament strain, ligament stretching or also sprain (distortion), otherwise of muscle strain.
- Ligament strain occurs when the natural mobility limits of the joint are exceeded, usually when “twisting” in the area of the upper ankle (“twisted foot”, “twisted foot”), but often also in the area of the knee, elbow, wrist and shoulder. It can not always be distinguished from a ligament tear, although in a ligament strain, the stabilizing function of the capsule-ligament apparatus is preserved.
- The muscle strain usually occurs when the muscles are not sufficiently warmed up and then suddenly strained. Therefore, sports such as squash, short-distance running or soccer, where abrupt acceleration or stop is required, are particularly predestined. Untrained muscle groups are also more susceptible to sudden overstretching. Here, too, the demarcation from the muscle fiber tear is often not easily possible.
- Dislocation (dislocation): this joint injury occurs when the ends of the bones that form a joint move against each other – usually as a result of a pronounced force such as a fall or by a strong pull on the joint. If there is no longer any contact between the ends of the bones, the medical profession refers to this as dislocation; if they are still touching, it is called subluxation. In most cases, dislocation also damages the joint capsule and ligaments as well as the cartilage of the joint surfaces. A relatively common special form is elbow dislocation in young children (Chaissaignac paralysis), which occurs when an adult pulls jerkily on the outstretched arm of the child (for example, to hold him when he stumbles).
