Moments D456: Bruises

Today I did some research on how to deal with major bruises.  Why?  Well, that's because I managed to bruise not one, but BOTH my ankles in the baseball tournament this past weekend.  (They really aren't pretty!  Here's a picture of them today, 4 days later!)

My right ankle is most certainly a "flesh wound" as I know the softball hit smack on my calf muscle. Unfortunately for my left ankle, it's not so simple.  I took a hard bouncing grounder directly off my ankle joint/bone.  I swear I felt my ankle shift when it hit.  When it first happened, my ankle went numb and I couldn't put much pressure on it.  Within a few minutes I was back up and playing the rest of the game.  (And no, I didn't quite make the play out at first, though I did stop the ball and they didn't take 2nd base!)

Now, I'm pretty sure that I simply have severe bruising. My BFF and EQ don't necessarily have the same confidence that I do about it.  On top of their concerns, I'm thinking about the Tough Mudder event that I'm training for come the end of September in the back of my mind.  I certainly want to make sure that my ankles are going to be okay to train on and push hard come September.  And so, with the gentle pushing from my BFF and EQ, I headed to see a doctor tonight about my left ankle which took the worst blow.  The doctor agreed with my BFF & EQ:  I need an x-ray on my left ankle.  Stay tuned!  My x-ray is first thing tomorrow morning!

In the meantime I did a little digging on how to help huge bruises cycle through quickly.  I found this website that was definitely helpful on how to get rid of bruises.  (And yes, I had a good giggle about using a leech, after all, I have a bucket full of leeches beneath my sink for just such an occasion!)  So far, I've been doing what I can to help the bruises break up and dissipate.  I even had my ankles in the sun today at lunch as I had a quick chat with EQ.

Interestingly, I was told today by Hawk that maybe it was a bruised bone, not a fracture.  She, unlike BFF & EQ thought I was jumping the gun on an x-ray.   Later, I was told by EQ that bones can't bruise. As someone who has managed to avoid serious injury most of her life, I really didn't know one way or the other. Confused and ready to find out I did a little digging on the subject.  The short of it, you really can bruise your bones.  

Basically a bone is bruised from a forceful impact (sports, accident or direct hit) that isn't strong enough to break or fracture the bone.  Treatment:  rest, support, and protect the injured bone and apply conventional treatments for trauma.

So, today, I learned something new.  How to deal with large bruises and that you really can bruise your bones.

Moments considering your options.

Moments realizing it's better to get answers instead of guesses.