Should I Worry About my Leg?

[Deleted]

About a month ago I tripped over one of my hiking boot laces and fell really hard onto the concrete sidewalk in front of the local post office.

I hit my leg in such a way my shin bone came into contact with the edge of the concrete/gravel transition area.

My entire shin turned black and blue but has since returned to normal color. However, it is still swelling and hurts.

I went hiking a bit on Saturday and ever since it has been killing me and I have a large area of swelling in the top 1/3rd part of my lower leg. 

Is this normal after a really deep tissue injury and will it eventually go away? I really, really don't want to see a doctor or go to ER. But, my leg is really swollen and sore... 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

My concern would be a deep vein thrombosis from the damage of the fall.  You might want to get it checked out.

[swamp]

You may have chipped the bone.  You should get an x Ray. 

[Deleted]

Mar 31, 2020 16:32:20 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

My concern would be a deep vein thrombosis from the damage of the fall.  You might want to get it checked out.

Ditto! Better a trip to the ER now than to lose your leg. That would definitely hamper your hiking. My own mother ignored a bruise to her leg because it was "just a bruise because I fell." Then it wasn't "just a bruise" any longer, and by the time she saw a doctor, her leg had to be amputated.

Please go to the ER now.

[Deleted]

The thing is, it's not red at all anymore or in any way discolored. It's not warm either. 

[Happy prose]

You should go to a dr. You fell a month ago! Something is cooking.

[kadee79]

Go to ER!  You have no idea what damage you may have caused inside.

[haapai]

Mar 31, 2020 16:41:59 GMT -5 Happy prose said:

You should go to a dr. You fell a month ago! Something is cooking.

Maybe, maybe not.  I seem to recall from my running days that any injury anywhere near my shins took forever to heal and I seem to recall someone saying something about the lousy circulation in that area of the body that made some pretty awful bruises and hard-to-explain shaving accidents much less worrisome.  Some of the scabs from poor razor-wielding lasted six months.  Thirty years later, I can still see the indentations where the flesh that I carelessly removed never grew back. 

In light of this, I'd be inclined to ignore swelling that was confined to the shin but I'd become quite alarmed if it spread up toward the knee.  On the other hand, I really, really hate going to see a doctor, despite having insurance and a plump HSA.  Maybe the best thing to do with my advice is to do the opposite. 

[Deleted]

Mar 31, 2020 17:04:20 GMT -5 haapai said:

Mar 31, 2020 16:41:59 GMT -5 Happy prose said:

You should go to a dr. You fell a month ago! Something is cooking.

Maybe, maybe not.  I seem to recall from my running days that any injury anywhere near my shins took forever to heal and I seem to recall someone saying something about the lousy circulation in that area of the body that made some pretty awful bruises and hard-to-explain shaving accidents much less worrisome.  Some of the scabs from poor razor-wielding lasted six months.  Thirty years later, I can still see the indentations where the flesh that I carelessly removed never grew back. 

In light of this, I'd be inclined to ignore swelling that was confined to the shin but I'd become quite alarmed if it spread up toward the knee.  On the other hand, I really, really hate going to see a doctor, despite having insurance and a plump HSA.  Maybe the best thing to do with my advice is to do the opposite. 

I don't like going to the doctors/ER and right now I 1000% don't want to...

I don't have an infection.

I'd assume if I had something like a DVT my leg would be red and hurt in a different place than it does. I also think my whole leg would swell.

I have essentially a large pocket of fluid a couple of inches below my knee. It goes right across my shin where it hurts. I can see a bulge if I turn my leg sideways. Previously, it's swollen up if I drove for a long time or walked around too much but the swelling hasn't been as big and it hasn't hurt for this long. 

Since I went hiking the other day it's been bothering me. It didn't hurt to hike on, but once I got home it swelled up and aches deep by the bone. I assume I irritated something in there that still hadn't healed. Jumping out of my lifted truck and climbing up into it I am sure isn't helping either.

I assume the medical advice will be elevate it and use ice, so I am going to opt for that tonight and see how it is in the morning. If it's still swollen and this painful, I will see if I can see a doctor. 

[Malarky]

I had a fall in November.  ER said it was "minor injury."

Fast forward 2 1/2 weeks.  Saw my orthopedist.  Four undisplaced fractures.

Might want to go get that checked out.

[haapai]

Now that you have described your injury, it sounds much nastier than anything that I ever experienced. 

This might be a good moment to show it to a doc in a box and get some more informed advice regarding it.  I can definitely understand not wanting to seek any medical care for it right now, but it doesn't sound like something that is going to go away soon and getting it seen is only going to get trickier and more hazardous. 

The next six to twelve months of your life might be much easier if you showed the swelling to even the most wet-behind-the-ears GP and receive any sort of assurance that shins (don't) heal like that and instructions regarding what worsening symptoms to look out for. 

[Deleted]

@shastasnewlife You can just not bother now and wait until Covid-19 comes to your little town when you won't be able to get near your ER unless you're already sick with the virus. Go now.

Malarky has a point. It's been a month with no improvement. Go.

[giramomma]

Can you do a tele-doctor visit first, to see what's what?

There's a medical group in my city that does them for $25/pop and is insurance agnostic.

That's the place I would probably start at.

If that's not available, can you call a NP at an office and talk to them? I don't go to the drs beyond a basic physical that one needs for BC or scouting..but at least for the kids, the MO is you always call the office and talk to a nurse to see if an appointment is warranted.

[busymom]

Whether you call a local doctor, or go to the ER, get it checked out.  A fall can cause a lot of different problems.  Just go, and report back.   We care!

[Deleted]

Mar 31, 2020 19:44:38 GMT -5 busymom said:

Whether you call a local doctor, or go to the ER, get it checked out.  A fall can cause a lot of different problems.  Just go, and report back.   We care!

Thanks. I really try not to be "that" person who asks for advice and then ignores everyone's suggestions...

I kept my leg up and tried ice. It still woke me up in the middle of the night aching and it's still really fluid-filled this morning. I can tap gently on it and see the fluid about 6 inches away ripple. It's so weird.

I called the local provider's office this morning. So far I've explained the situation to 5 different people... The last one is trying to get me an emergency appt with the visiting orthopedist who happens to be in the area today. That would be pretty amazing, over the option of going to ER.

The "advice nurse" told me the bone may be cracked or I may have some other injury that will continue to swell if I don't get it fixed or at least stay off of it for an extended period of time.

[TheOtherMe]

Hope you can be seen today.  Sounds like you definitely need to see a doctor.

[swamp]

I'd say don't go to the ER.   You'll just sit there with the COVID cooties. 

I think your current option of consulting with the local provider is good. 

[Deleted]

Apr 1, 2020 10:38:25 GMT -5 swamp said:

I'd say don't go to the ER.   You'll just sit there with the COVID cooties. 

I think your current option of consulting with the local provider is good. 

In my area, although there is no confirmed COVID cases, you can't just go to the ER anyway. You have to call first and be approved to come in. Not that I want to go there anyway...

I think if the fluid was about 2" higher, it would be called water on the knee. Not sure if I can have water on the shinbone or how that's treated, but that's what it feels like. Frustrating.

[sesfw]

Hope you can get your emergency appointment today ..............

[Deleted]

I managed to score a same-day appointment with an orthopedist! Damn, in CA with Medicaid it would have been a referral and months of waiting... 

The x-rays show the bone isn't broken but I have a large hematoma that goes from just above my knee halfway down my leg. When you look at my leg from the side it looks like someone shoved a grapefruit into it.

He said when I went hiking and warmed up the vessels it started bleeding into the area again and that's why it's so big and so sore.

He suggested I wrap my leg from my toes up past my knee, elevate it, and ice it for the next week. If it won't go down, then he will have to put a needle into it and extract the blood. That doesn't sound like fun at all. 

Glad I now know what's wrong and that it will eventually be back to normal.

[NastyWoman]

Go to the ER and go now. Your area still has few if any diagnosed COVID19 cases. The ER will be ready for them (protocols in place) and not yet overrun.  Wait a few weeks and you may not have the option to go there relatively safely.

It may be nothing but you don't want to find out there is a problem after the steaming pile of brown stuff has hit the fan as it eventually will...

[busymom]

I'm so glad you found someone to examine that leg!  It did sound kind of scary.



Now you'll have to stay home, and be good, like the rest of us.     Don't forget the ice!  And now, you can either read to your heart's content, or catch up on some television while you ice that leg.  

[Deleted]

Thanks- that's very good news! And I'm glad Medicaid is working for you in Oregon. I hate it when the system makes it so hard to get care that people's conditions worsen in the meantime and it ends up costing more than they "saved" by restricting care. Your solution is simple, cheap and non-invasive but you just needed someone to tell you that.

[Deleted]

That's a tremendous relief! Follow doctor's orders. Don't make me come out there!

[Deleted]

Apr 1, 2020 15:02:32 GMT -5 @missrigby said:

That's a tremendous relief! Follow doctor's orders. Don't make me come out there!

Hey, there's no COVID here yet!    lol

I'm all wrapped up, icing, and elevating. Not the most comfortable but better than the idea of a damn needle... 

[justme]

Unless you can say for a fact that everyone in your town hasn't left and no one from outside has come to your town -- I would not be sure it's not there. You just don't know it's there. 

This mess is because too many said in January "it's just one case". 

[Deleted]

Apr 1, 2020 16:39:44 GMT -5 justme said:

Unless you can say for a fact that everyone in your town hasn't left and no one from outside has come to your town -- I would not be sure it's not there. You just don't know it's there. 

This mess is because too many said in January "it's just one case". 

Yeah, all of Oregon has only done something like 1K tests and I live where cows far outnumber humans. 

[NoNamePerson]

Apr 1, 2020 16:57:45 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

Apr 1, 2020 16:39:44 GMT -5 justme said:

Unless you can say for a fact that everyone in your town hasn't left and no one from outside has come to your town -- I would not be sure it's not there. You just don't know it's there. 

This mess is because too many said in January "it's just one case". 

Yeah, all of Oregon has only done something like 1K tests and I live where cows far outnumber humans. 

 Mad cow disease just popped into my addled brain. Beware

[lynnerself]

Apr 1, 2020 16:57:45 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

Apr 1, 2020 16:39:44 GMT -5 justme said:

Unless you can say for a fact that everyone in your town hasn't left and no one from outside has come to your town -- I would not be sure it's not there. You just don't know it's there. 

This mess is because too many said in January "it's just one case". 

Yeah, all of Oregon has only done something like 1K tests and I live where cows far outnumber humans. 

Current statistics: Oregon has done 14,868 tests. But only 27 in your county.

[Deleted]

Apr 1, 2020 17:50:35 GMT -5 lynnerself said:

Apr 1, 2020 16:57:45 GMT -5 @shastasnewlife said:

Yeah, all of Oregon has only done something like 1K tests and I live where cows far outnumber humans. 

Current statistics: Oregon has done 14,868 tests. But only 27 in your county.

I think our county only has 7K people, so statistically lots of people here have been tested.    

Probably the 27 folks who don't think this is a democrat hoax to ruin the economy and not re-elect the president...