pulled/bruised muscles

[smb_racing]

Yesterday I perfectly executed a flying W coming down a hill and met with the ground most unpleasantly. I landed on my wrist and thought it was fractured but the lack of swelling makes me think it's a bruised muscle. My back took a hard impact and hurts worse than the arm, but today the pain is subsiding nicely. What is the best treatment for this type of injury? So far I've been taking anti-inflammatory medicines (ibuprofen) and applying some icy hot (great stuff). Just wondering if anyone has some good avice. Thanks in advance.

 

[mark_england]

get your wrist x-rayed scaphoid breaks are dificult to diagnoze but if un treated can cause big problems

 

[smb_racing]

what's a scaphoid break? The wrist still hurts a bit if I move it a certain direction, but there's no localized pain like with a break.

 

[dirty~d~]

The scaphoid is one of the carpal bones that makes up your wrist. When you fracture your wrist usually it means you have fractured one of those bones. Get it x-rayed. The Advil is a good idea, but don't use the icy hot. It masks your bod's warning sign (pain) and you could make it worse without knowing it. Palpate into your wrist (probe with your finger) You'll feel each individual bone. If one is sensative to pressure my guess is you've fractured it. ROM may or may not tell you if something is wrong when it comes to bones. Palpating is the best way to find the problem. I'll dig out some of my sports med stuff for you and pm you with it. GO GET IT LOOKED AT in the meantime.

 

[smb_racing]

thanks guys, my sister is a doctor, she told me how to check the scaphoid (press between the two ligaments, maybe they're tendons?, by your thumb) no pain. It still hurts fairly bad, I hyper extended it when I crashed, if you bring your hand towards your arm the pain is where the lowest spot is and the whole width of my wrist. How long should I be experiencing the discomfort? It's past 3 weeks worth of pain, it's not so bad that I can't use it but I still notice it. Thanks again.

 

[dirty~d~]

What did your sister suggest you do? Have you seen your physician yet? The duration of the pain will depend on what you did to it. Did you fracture anything? If that's the case anywhere from 3-4 weeks for the pain to diminish. (if you don't get it in a cast) If you damaged a tendon it could be a good 6-8 weeks before the pain is gone. Tendons are a pain in the buttocks when you injure them. Those and ligaments usually take a while to heal completely. Just keep stretching the surrounding muscles as much as you can tolerate it. Keeping the ligs and tendons flexible will help with the healing process, as well as help prevent it from happening again. Ice the area when you aren't usuing it. 20 minutes on, 40 minutes off. Repeat that process a few times a night, if you have the opportunity to do so. Just don't use Icy Hot or any other med rub. They are better suited for muscles. Take the Advil when you need it, but be sure to eat something with it. Advil will eat a hole in your stomach lining (if taken in excess without food). I hope you heal up soon. Take care.

 

[smb_racing]

Thanks for the tips, my sister suggested ice massage and ibuprofen. I rode 60 miles yesterday with no pain, so hopefully everything is getting back to normal. Now to just not reinjure it with another crash :silly:

 

[MikeT]

Originally posted by smb_racing
My back took a hard impact and hurts worse than the arm, but today the pain is subsiding nicely.

I'm glad to hear that you are doing better. If I were you, I'd invest in an AP Back guard to prevent a future injury of your back. I wear one all the time. See my review in the Product review section.

 

[smb_racing]

I read your review on it, sounds really tempting. I don't do a lot of MX though, and most of the back discomforts I get from crashing are shoulder/muscle injuries rather than towards the middle. My chest protector took a lot of my impact since my shoulder is really the only part that hit the ground other than my arm. Couldn't hurt to have the extra protection though right?

 

[MikeT]

Exactly :D