The traumatologist told about the causes of bruises after injury

The appearance of a bruise (medical term — bruise) after an injury occurs due to damage to blood vessels and blood outflow into the soft tissues in the area of impact. Maxim Popogrebsky, an orthopedic traumatologist and head of the Department of Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation treatment at the NCSM of the FMBA of Russia, spoke in more detail about this phenomenon on April 19 in an interview with Gazeta.Ru».

"At first, the bruise has a bluish or even reddish tinge. This is fresh blood, rich in hemoglobin. Over time, it begins to change color: it turns purple, then brown, and finally yellow," the doctor said.

This process is accompanied by the breakdown of hemoglobin and its subsequent transformation into other pigments, including bilirubin. When the remaining enzymes are broken down, the skin returns to its usual color.

It is unlikely to be possible to determine the extent and nature of the injury from the bruise. However, this can be done if you pay attention to the size and swelling at the injury site. You should immediately seek medical help if the injury site is swollen, and the bruise itself occupies a large area of the skin surface or surrounds the joint.

"If your movements are restricted, there is a suspicious crunch or you feel pain when trying to move a limb even without pressure on the injury site itself, this is a reason to see a doctor immediately," Popogrebsky said.

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On April 3, Mikhail Doroshev, an orthopedic traumatologist of the highest category, told how to distinguish a bruise from a fracture when falling from a bicycle or electric scooter. He named the signs of a bruise: severe pain that occurs at the moment of impact, which gradually subsides; swelling that appears quickly, but does not interfere with the movement of fingers or limbs. In this case, the signs of a fracture are as follows: the arm or leg looks unnaturally bent, the limb "bends" where there is no joint; audible or palpable crunching of bone fragments when trying to move; inability to step on the foot or lean on the arm due to sharp pain