A week out my calf is still bruised and swollen. I used ice for the first day and a half. Now what do I do?
If it was bad enough, maybe seeing a doctor right off could have helped.
Have to be careful with muscle injuries, they can become trouble quickly if not treated properly.
Yours may be fine healing on it’s own, but just in case, maybe get a doctor’s eye on it?
The swollen part is what may be concerning, compartment problem in calf muscles can turn ugly.
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You need to have it checked by a doctor. Leg bruising can lead to blood clots, which can be very dangerous.
That said, my go-to for most bruising is arnica gel, massaged 4x a day into the bruised area, for a few days or until bruising and swelling diminish. In a pinch, Sore No More gel works very well too.
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@Bluey has a good point about getting medical care. I ended up with compartment syndrome in my calf after a fall on concrete (no horse help that time). Even with immediate medical care and ultimately surgery to have the hematoma removed, it ended up being a six month rotten experience, with cellulitis and daily vetwrapping (because I hate compression stockings).
Part of the reason mine got so bad was because I refused to take time off work to heal properly and keep that leg elevated. I had a similar injury on my other leg (bike crash that time) that healed much better and much faster. By that time, I was retired, and sat around with my leg up for a couple of weeks. Made a huge difference.
Rebecca
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I recently had a horse land full weight on my groin / upper thigh, bruising went from up my abdomen down to my knee and there was a tear into the muscle too.
Checked by hospital as I couldn’t weight bear at all and they initially thought I’d fractured my hip, but it was all soft tissue trauma.
What worked for me was ice x 4 a day, then reduced down to x 1 a day up to 10 days, arnica gel applied often and liberally, orally took homeopathic arnica and I used a photizo device which is red light therapy twice daily.
Bruising all gone within three weeks, I still have some scar tissue but I know from previous injuries that’ll take a while to break down.
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I second getting it checked ASAP - a friend had a small injury (hit his leg on something random) and kept telling me he knew how to deal with it. Almost a month later, still unable to put weight on it, he went to the doctor. Long story short, it damaged the muscle, nerves, and vascular system in the lower leg enough that he had to have two toes amputated.
Not saying this is that bad, but better to be safe than sorry.
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Thanks all, Am using Arnica inside and out, bruise has subsided, and I’m almost good to go.
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Great news!
Definitely see a doctor. I got knocked over and trampled on my left calf. Orthopedist told me crush type injuries can turn dangerous quickly due to compartment syndrome as @Bluey mentioned. Better to have it checked out.
I had a limp for a year. Still can’t point toes on that foot.
