How Long Does A Deep Thigh Bruise Take to Heal?

Mine took five weeks.

I post this because I found precious little information when I sought it for myself.  Lots of "time will tell" and "it depends on the severity of your ding, your overall health, physical therapy and RICE treatments" etc that never got to something that read "four to six weeks" for example.

So here is one puffin's tale:

-Got slammed in the thigh by my SUP board (whilst getting worked by a closed out wave).
-Was able to continue SUPing (following five minutes of swearing) but after the drive home found walking difficult.
-Major swelling around the impact zone (of my thigh) later that day.
-After several days of semi-limping, developed bruising everywhere BUT where the board hit.
-Tried windsurfing two weeks later...I could not jump the board, and found myself limping again the day after.
-About the time my bruises cleared (five weeks) tried another session.  I was 90% good, which is fine by me.
-I still have a bump at the impact site, and it's still sore, but it continues to slowly improve.

So if you've googled the question (HLDADTBTTH?) I hope this one example is of use to you.  YMMV.

(The thigh, 2.5 weeks after getting slammed.)

Comments

[Bunty]

Bruises are funny things. I got a bash by the fin on my thigh back mid November (nothing like as bad as yours ofcourse, only around 2 or 3" diameter) - but the funny thing is I still have the bruise mark. It doesn't hurt when I press it but the mark doesn't seem to want to go away.
Have to say yours was extra bad though!!

[aaron]

are you sure this picture is PG? :P

Hope it goes away soon, if for nothing more than your love life.

[CJ]

If you haven't already, get some deep tissue massage by a registered massage therapist as well as some acupuncture. Both will help tremendously. Also, apply a creme called "Traumeel" (a homeopathic anti-inflammatory) to the thigh a few times a day. You can get it at most pharmacies. It would be helpful to get your massage therapist or Dr. palpate the impact area to feel for any calcification. Good luck!

[scott k.]

nah just get back out there on a board & do it all over again,eventually you will get used to it! looks like youll have another chance this sat. e gusting to 30!

[O Docker]

What, you didn't try beer?

Drink one beer immediately following the injury. If pain continues, drink another beer.

Repeat as needed.

If all you have is Coors, rub it on the injured area, but don't - repeat don't - drink it.

[CD]

Hey Mike,
Think about it like this, what if it hit you a little to the left...yikes, granted you have suffered but the jewels are still intact!
CD

[Brian S]

Is that Sasquatch?

[PC]

Drinking a mastful might help ;-)

[CD]

Hey O Docker,
Got a kick out of your blog!!Funny stuff! LOL CD

[Beth]

Yikes that is bad! I was googling the same thing and found your blog...mine is the front of both of my thighs from a fall down stair treads..its been 12 days and its ugly! Hu

[Leanne Catchpole]

I got hit by a car and seriously knocked of my bike two weeks ago!! Nothing was broken luckily but both my thighs (especially left one) was left badly swollen and days later I had the most disgusting bruises I've ever seen!! Naively I thought once these had faded I would be pain free and back on my bike again but the opposite happened and I'm in so much pain sill. I was convinced I'd be back to normal by this time but looks like this isn't going to happen. How long will this last?? Extremely fed up!!

[Jennie]

Really appreciate your input! I fell over about 2 months ago (drunk) smacking my thigh on a door frame, the bruise looked much the same as your. Although it's faded and the pain has gone there is a shadow still there. I'm hoping in time that this shadowing goes as it's the size of a dinner plate! Is this what happened to yours?

[mlj]

Puffin:
Thanks for your post. You are right. No good info out there for severe thigh contusions. But your picture and blog helped reassure me. I was helping my husband move a fold-up motorcycle trailer. We were moving fast because it was snowing and forgot to lock the folded part in place. So when we raised it vertically, it fell and snapped back down, landing on my thigh. I don't know how much it weighs, but it hurt like heck. Within an hour my left thigh, hip to knee, was bright blue-purple and swollen. I iced it immediately where it had impacted. My whole thigh was pretty numb for a couple of days. Athletes call it a "dead leg" syndrome. The name is right. Four days now and the blood has moved dependent with gravity to the back of the leg and down past the knee. It is turning green-yellowish, and stiffens overnight. I've been taking Advil and aspirin alternately to prevent any clots moving to the lungs. I'm in my mid 50s and so rehab will take a bit longer. I'm sure it will take weeks before the blood is all finally reabsorbed. And I'm just now beginning a bit of heat to the area and gentle stretching exercises. The limp is getting much better. Hopefully the rock-hard tissue over site of impact will soften soon.

[Michael]

mlj...it softens (I've been through this twice now...the thigh bruise and more recently the same thing on my tricep) but it takes weeks. As I said in the post, five weeks after the injury I still had a bump. It ultimately cleared completely.

[Pat Mackondy]

I fell off a stage 3 weeks ago and landed on an area 1 inch below my knee. I have a swelling on this area with pain that will not go away. Nor the bump the fall created. How can I get rid of this never ending pain?

[ryan]

whilst playing football my own goalkeepers knee went straight into.my thigh it was very painful but i continued to play for roughly 5minutes even getting another sprint in although not as fast before i came off i went to the changing rooms and got changed before watching the rest of the game. at the end of the game my leg stiffened horrifically and found it very hard to walk on but i went home and had a hot bath not a good idea i think. anyway 2 days later i was sitting down on the computer and my leg erupted with pain rushed to the hospital and they said there was no fracture and that there was blood trapped in the leg. cutting a long story shorter it turns out.its a dead leg its been 9 days and its still very swollen around my knee and most of my leg wven back of my knee so i cant bend my leg. i apply ice keep my foot elevated and take anti flammertorys every 4hours im still really worried about it though can anybody tell me when the bruising will go and the discolouring will come? reply on here or email me at [email protected] thanks

[Karen]

Hello, I found your site while browsing for hematoma. I injured myself a week ago on my outer left thigh and I developed a bruise in that area. About two days later, I noticed a hard lump in the center of the bruise. The lump is not bumpy; it's actually under the skin but it feels hard. Is that normal? Will it go away on its own? Pls reply I'm going crazy already thinking about the hematoma and as you said I cannot find a definitive answer online.

[Michael]

Karen, my bump took months to go away.

[scott k.]

go see a doctor!mikes a good windsurfer...but lousy at healing people!

[Kendall]

I fell off my bike on July 1st and I still have a 'shadow' spot on the top of my thigh. Now it is December and it still has a bit of pain if you touch or press that area. Maybe it just takes time...

[Miss B]

I was hit in the back of my leg next to my thigh by the edge of a snowboarder's board at high speed. It hurt like hell on impact and i fully expected a huge bruise as a result. Sure enough, this was the case but there was also a big lump (the size of a squash ball). As i was in the mountains, i was able to put bags of snow on the lump, as well as ibuprofen gel and took codine for a few days to ease the pain. The bruise was purple and red in colour, roughly 10cmx20cm in size and too sore to touch or put any weight on, so I had to sleep with a pillow under my leg and sit on the edge of seats. It hurt a bit when walking but luckily i was able to ski the rest of my holiday and weirdly the chair lifts were not a problem. Two weeks after the injury, i could sleep normally but still felt small lumps around the muscle so the doctor recommended a week long course of anti-biotics to prevent infection. Its now been just over 3 weeks and although the bruise has all but disappeared the area still feels sore and small lumps remain. A half-hearted body attack class at the weekend aggrivated it so theres my excuse not to exersize at the moment! I anticipate it will be another week or 2 at least before the area feels back to normal. So....agreed, it can take 5-6 weeks for a bad bruise on leg/thigh to heal :)

[Badass!]

Waterskiing I came up but the rope flexed sending me backwards, handle got locked between my thigs while the skiis interlocked, in essens I was pulled by the handle locked between my legs, when it released the tension was so high that the handle sligshot 30meters and landed on the front of the boat pulling me. Gruesom pain, (beer helped a little) few days passed by now, the bruises are bad but the worst is the back of my thighs have turned black (I'm caucasian) and I have a tingling burning sensation in my right thigh.
Advice anyone?

[Dave]

I crashed riding in a peloton in a Century ride two years ago. Tried to finish the ride, but severe cramping set in. The next day I passed out, taken to ER. The contusion had developed into a hemtoma with 1.5 pints of blood (about size of two fists). Here are some things I learned: RICE first two weeks. it takes 8-12 weeks for the blood to be reabsorbed. As the blood drains, it will collect at your knee joint, later ankle and foot, making those appear to be sprained in look and feel (weird). Iron supplements will help red blood cell replenishment. If you are on daily aspirin regimen (I'm over 50) or blood thinners, consult Doc about stopping asap as this contributes to bleeding/bruising. Concerns are calcification, and compartment syndrome (severe pain - see Doc immed). I rolled on top of a hard styrofoam roll after three weeks to break up the mass and minimize calcification, otherwise the blood mass can gradually turn to stone (the roll hurt like hell, but worked great). Get back on the bike or the board and resume activity after 2-6 weeks. Good luck!