My first injury just happened.

Baron

Baron

ET Founder
As much as I hate to admit it, I suffered my first exercise-related injury this week. I decided to do an all-out, NFL-style sprint workout two weeks ago and it was very hard. I was sore for 7 days afterwards. Then I got the bright idea to go out and do it again.

As soon as I did the first 30-second sprint, I could instantly feel that I was STILL sore from the last workout.

But I proceeded to do 25 more minutes of interval sprint torture. I completed the workout but my legs were definitely hurting. I walked back home from the field I was sprinting in with no issues whatsoever. Next day, no problem. Just the same upper leg soreness I felt on the last sprint workout. I'm so used to being sore that I didn't pay it any mind.

The next day I wake up and my left leg is swollen, and starting to bruise up like crazy. The next day after that I had a bunch of fluid accumulating in my leg and it was very uncomfortable. After a few days since then, the fluid in now gone and I'm starting to walk ok, but the bruising is pretty gnarly.

15002428955661295107005.jpg


I never heard a "pop" of any sort or felt like I could no longer complete the workout. I can walk OK but obviously there's a little weirdness and pain involved but nothing too crazy. It seems to get better with each passing day.
 
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What's crazy is that the location of the bruising has nothing to do with the area that actually hurts the most. The location of my thumb is where most of the tenderness is:
1500243316143584486174.jpg
 
Hm, strange thing. What you have is ecchymosis, a discoloration of the skin resulting from bleeding underneath, typically caused by bruising.

I googled "bruising after running" and here is a similar case to you, although the bruising happened in a different place:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2850835/

Another relevant link:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/470155-bruising-of-legs-after-running/

"According to MedlinePlus, elevating the leg above the heart keeps blood from collecting in the bruised tissue. Try to avoid hitting the bruised area again."

Another one:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/473298-bruised-calf-from-running/
 
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I've had a couple of pulls (tears) in my hurdling days and that's what it looks like. It is unusual to have that much bruising without traumatic pain at the time of injury. I've had good experience with Traumeel (T-Relief) for bruising and inflammation. It also acts as an analgesic.
 
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@Pekelo Sounds right to me. My friend recently got the same hamstring bruising like what was shown in the link you posted. The fact that mine happened on the front, and only on one leg, baffles me.
 
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From the 3rd link from my previous post:

Treatments

Rest and place an ice pack against your calf to help constrict the blood vessels and reduce bruising and other symptoms. Compress your lower leg with an elastic bandage or sleeve. Elevate your calf to help reduce blood and fluid accumulation and speed up the healing process. If you have to walk, place a heel pad in your shoe to help raise your heel and reduce strain from your calf. Seek medical attention if bruising is chronic or does not subside with home treatment.

Prevention
To prevent additional calf bruising, strengthen your calves with exercises such as calf raises. This will help them better absorb stress while running. Always warm up and stretch out your calf muscles before you run. This will help make the calf muscles stronger, more pliable and less likely to become injured during exercise. Ask a coach or trainer to teach you the proper way to run to help decrease stress on the calf muscles.

And since I like supplements:

Herbal Treatment
An herbal preparation of arnica, the dried flowers of Arnica montana, may be applied to the skin to treat bruises. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, arnica has been used since the 1500s by Europeans and American Indians to reduce inflammation and swelling and to promote wound healing. Arnica should not be applied to cuts or abrasions and skin irritations may occur with prolonged use.
 
Baron said:
As much as I hate to admit it, I suffered my first exercise-related injury this week

I decided to do an all-out, NFL-style sprint workout two weeks ago and it was very hard

I was sore for 7 days afterwards. Then I got the bright idea to go out and do it again
More...

Why on earth would you do a crazy, intense, strenuous thing like that o_O -- specially for a middle-aged/elderly male,

I'm glad I just use a pair of 30lb dumbells only to do a combination of exercises, and cardio/Tae-Bo,
Nothing serious or extreme,

As long as I'm loose, and limber, and toned/strong and elastic with good posture and proportions...I'm happy,

Your exercising habits reminds me of the late 90's dot com boom and bust; Easy come, easy go,
No offense, just sayin -- There's a fine line between pushing it to the limit, and flirting with disaster,
 
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Pekelo said:
From the 3rd link from my previous post:

Treatments

Rest and place an ice pack against your calf to help constrict the blood vessels and reduce bruising and other symptoms. Compress your lower leg with an elastic bandage or sleeve. Elevate your calf to help reduce blood and fluid accumulation and speed up the healing process. If you have to walk, place a heel pad in your shoe to help raise your heel and reduce strain from your calf. Seek medical attention if bruising is chronic or does not subside with home treatment.

Prevention
To prevent additional calf bruising, strengthen your calves with exercises such as calf raises. This will help them better absorb stress while running. Always warm up and stretch out your calf muscles before you run. This will help make the calf muscles stronger, more pliable and less likely to become injured during exercise. Ask a coach or trainer to teach you the proper way to run to help decrease stress on the calf muscles.

And since I like supplements:

Herbal Treatment
An herbal preparation of arnica, the dried flowers of Arnica montana, may be applied to the skin to treat bruises. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, arnica has been used since the 1500s by Europeans and American Indians to reduce inflammation and swelling and to promote wound healing. Arnica should not be applied to cuts or abrasions and skin irritations may occur with prolonged use.
More...
Yep, Traumeel contains Arnica among other herbal ingredients.
 
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