Haematoma due to stretching of the ligaments
In addition to severe pain and swelling, ligament stretching often results in bruising (haematoma) after a few hours. Contrary to common belief, this is also the case if only individual fibres of the ligament are torn and the ligament as a whole is only overstretched and not torn. The cause is the tearing of small vessels which subsequently bleed into the surrounding tissue and thus become externally visible as bruises.
Since the injury is located near the surface of the skin, the bruise occurs relatively quickly after the injury and takes on different dimensions depending on the location and severity of the injury. Relief is often provided by immobilising and elevating the affected foot, cooling it or applying a compression bandage. Pain ointments or cooling gels can also be applied. Heparin ointment can help by preventing blood clotting (active substance class of anticoagulants). Applied 2 to 3 times a day, it reduces the swelling and ensures that the blood clots in the vessels under the skin dissolve more quickly, causing the bruise to fade more and more.
Causes of ligament elongation
Stretching or even stretching of the ligaments can have various reasons. The most common cause of ligament strain is a distortion or incorrect movement during sports. Especially if a patient has not warmed up sufficiently before training, overstraining the ligaments (ligamenta) or incorrectly executed movements can quickly lead to a stretching of the ligaments.
But it is not only during sports that a ligament can be torn. Another cause of ligament stretching is when a patient bends with her high wheel or when a patient generally performs an awkward movement. Violent trauma, such as a fall or a blow to the knee, can also be a possible cause of ligament stretching.
Here it is especially important to differentiate whether the patient “only” overstretched the ligament or whether a tear in the ligament (see: Torn ligament) occurred. This is very painful and leads to an unusual (pathological) mobility of the affected joint, sometimes also to malpositions (luxations) of the joint. The most frequent cause of ligament stretching up to a torn ligament, however, remains sport. Especially sports where there is an abrupt stop or change of direction are predestined for a torn ligament. Thus, sports such as football, tennis, basketball or handball are a particularly frequent cause of ligament stretching.
Symptoms of ligament stretching
The symptoms of ligament stretching can vary greatly and depend, among other things, on how often the patient has already pulled the ligament and how severe the strain is. Many sportsmen and women do not even notice a pulled ligament after some time, because the ligaments become more stretched after a while. This phenomenon can be observed especially in a ballerina or a figure skater.
If they initially have symptoms of ligament stretching, such as pain or slight swelling, they will be able to do the splits without pain after some time with some practice. The reason for this is that the ligaments are elastic and become even more elastic after some time due to the permanent overstretching. However, if an acute stretching of the ligaments occurs, symptoms are completely normal.
Typical symptoms of ligament stretching include pain and swelling in the affected joint. For example, if a footballer has pulled a ligament (ligamentum) in his knee, the result is acute pain and swelling in the area of the knee. Pain and swelling are usually relieved by: better.
The symptoms of ligament stretching, on the other hand, get worse when the patient tries to put weight on the affected joint and continues to do sports. Often the joint already hurts under small loads, such as walking. Nevertheless, it is important to differentiate between torn and stretched ligaments.
Torn ligaments have more pronounced symptoms than torn ligaments. In the case of a torn ligament, on the other hand, unusual mobility occurs. For example, the patient can turn (rotate) the lower leg inwards or outwards abnormally (pathologically) due to a torn ligament in the knee.
The formation of a haematoma is therefore also more likely to indicate a torn ligament. These symptoms are not all present when the ligament is stretched. In this case, the joint remains stable and the patient can (albeit with pain) and perform normal movements.
When the ligament is stretched, symptoms such as bleeding (haematomas) occur only extremely rarely. In addition, despite the symptoms, the patient can still put pressure on the affected joint when the ligament is stretched. Furthermore, the joint is stable. – Cooling
- High storage and
- Immobilization of the knee
