The doctor named ways to distinguish a fracture from a bruise without an X-ray

With a fracture, pain occurs instantly and is accompanied by the rapid appearance of edema and hematoma, while with a bruise, symptoms develop gradually. On September 1, he told the newspaper.Ru" traumatologist-orthopedist of GUTA CLINIC Raziuan Beshtoev.

"Usually, with a bone fracture, the body's reaction is instantaneous: acute, sometimes bursting pain occurs instantly and increases even with the lightest attempts to move the limb or load it. Edema and extensive blue hematoma appear immediately <...>. After a few minutes, a deformity may become noticeable — a visible curvature of the bone or an unnatural position of the limb. If there is a displacement of fragments during a fracture, a characteristic crunch (crepitation) is felt in the limb during movement," he explained.

According to the doctor, bruising and swelling form slowly, sometimes only in the evening or the next day. The pain increases gradually, while it is most pronounced when pressing on the area of damage and subsides at rest. There is no deformation or crunch characteristic of a fracture during a bruise.

Beshtoev also noted that a fracture can develop without a strong impact due to prolonged exertion. He gave an example of a 45-year-old patient who was running: after training, he noticed swelling in his foot, and a week later doctors revealed a metatarsal fracture with displacement. Such stress fractures, the specialist emphasized, are often found in athletes with a sharp increase in training intensity or the use of unsuitable shoes.

"A similar scenario is possible for common fractures without initial displacement: the patient may retain full or partial ability to step on his foot for several days. This happens especially often with injuries to the fibula and metatarsal bones," the expert concluded.

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Earlier, on August 22, Alexandra Fileva, an expert at the Hemotest Laboratory, told Izvestia that unilateral discomfort in the leg may indicate an early stage of serious diseases such as thrombosis or varicose veins. It can be difficult to distinguish between these diseases at the initial stage, but there are key signs that will help to suspect a particular pathology. According to her, thrombosis is characterized by the formation of blood clots in deep or superficial veins.

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