Contusion
Definition Bruise
A contusion is a painful event caused by trauma to bones or joints with a long and severe course without visible injury. A bone contusion is usually accompanied by severe pain under stress.
Causes/forms
First of all, a joint contusion is distinguished from a pure bone contusion. However, both are caused by mostly blunt traumas. The joint contusion occurs during sports (e.g. soccer in duels) or in everyday life.
In most cases, the affected person bumps into a blunt object with the affected joint. Knee joints, hip joints and elbow joints are often affected. The most common cause is edges of tables and chairs as well as cupboards.
A joint contusion also occurs in complex injuries in the form of a compression and is more likely to be a concomitant phenomenon in addition to serious injuries. Furthermore, in the case of serious traumas, such as car accidents or falls from great heights, bruises inevitably occur alongside frequent fractures. After falls there are often bruises of the ribs or extremities.
In addition to bone contusions, a further distinction is made between soft tissue contusions, in which the skin and underlying tissue can be sensitive to pain due to blunt trauma, often over several days or weeks. The pain of a bone contusion is usually triggered by irritation of the periosteum (periosteum) caused by the trauma. The periosteum is very sensitive and increased pressure or bruising in this area can cause long-lasting pain.
In soft tissue contusions, the pain is caused by nerves running under the skin and in the tissue. In addition, bruises in the bone, joint or soft tissue area cause bruising in the overlying tissue and thus an increase in pressure under the skin. This increase in pressure can also irritate the nerves and be painful.
Symptoms
After contusions, moderate to severe pain occurs relatively quickly in those affected. In most cases, swelling in or above the area of the bruise also occurs within a very short time. In addition to the bones, soft tissue and muscles are usually also affected by a contusion, so that the blood vessels passing by in the affected regions may also be affected by the injury.
Bleeding occurs – a bruise develops. If joints have been bruised, swelling and pain-related functional impairment often occur, i.e. certain movements can no longer be performed due to the pain. Often there are also bruises of the ribcage and ribs.
In this case, patients complain of severe rib pain as well as breathing problems. This is because breathing and chest movements cause the affected ribs to shift and the pain increases. Similar symptoms are also seen in the case of a broken rib.
