Made a dumb decision to pull into a closing section of a wave between me and the channel, got tumbled with my board, and took a solid blow to my outer thigh. Got it checked out and looks like it's only muscle damage, no bone/tendon/nerve, but I can't bend knee past 90 deg, leg pretty useless.

Have any of you had this type of injury (thigh contusion?) and any tips on how long it takes to heal or what worked for recovery? Thanks

Charlie Horse?
Had a few playing football in high school, when knees sneaked behind my thigh pads to crunch my leg from slightly behind the side. Could barely gimp off the field, need 2 days off, and gingerly practice for a full week.
But I was 15 then.
Now, it would take 2 weeks to get to function walking.

Tiger balm, Ben Gay, rubbing, lots of light, repetitive bending to loosen and circulate blood.
Now bone bruises can stay a couple weeks.

Thanks! Did something like this falling onto a handrail when I was 19, but was easier to back bounce then:)
cheers

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Kisutch said..
Made a dumb decision to pull into a closing section of a wave between me and the channel, got tumbled with my board, and took a solid blow to my outer thigh. Got it checked out and looks like it's only muscle damage, no bone/tendon/nerve, but I can't bend knee past 90 deg, leg pretty useless.

Have any of you had this type of injury (thigh contusion?) and any tips on how long it takes to heal or what worked for recovery? Thanks

Ice, no alcohol in early days. Depending on how bad it is anything from a couple of days to a few weeks or longer. Very common injury in AFL and I am guessing rugby.

Sounds like you've got some trauma to the femoral nerve, it should improve with rest after 48hrs if it doesn't well I guess see a real doctor not seabreeze quacks

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micksmith said..
Sounds like you've got some trauma to the femoral nerve, it should improve with rest after 48hrs if it doesn't well I guess see a real doctor not seabreeze quacks

I assume present company excluded!??

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lam said..

micksmith said..
Sounds like you've got some trauma to the femoral nerve, it should improve with rest after 48hrs if it doesn't well I guess see a real doctor not seabreeze quacks

I assume present company excluded!??

Hell no, I'm definitely a quack up

Aren't we all

As a rule of thumb, mild injuries to muscles take 2 weeks to repair.

I have found two cheap devices that help a lot:
- massage roller pins with bumps that acts as digits too circulate blood like LeeD said. Take care of not having one that can pinch and pull hairs :-)
- neoprene compression sleeves for the first sessions when going back on the water to protect the muscle. I guess cutting a leg/arm in a old wetsuit could work, too.

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colas said..
As a rule of thumb, mild injuries to muscles take 2 weeks to repair.

I have found two cheap devices that help a lot:
- massage roller pins with bumps that acts as digits too circulate blood like LeeD said. Take care of not having one that can pinch and pull hairs :-)
- neoprene compression sleeves for the first sessions when going back on the water to protect the muscle. I guess cutting a leg/arm in a old wetsuit could work, too.

Massaging a contusion can actually make it worse and is not recommended.
a compression bandage maybe helpful.
In the early days RICE is recommended. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

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lam said..

colas said..
As a rule of thumb, mild injuries to muscles take 2 weeks to repair.

I have found two cheap devices that help a lot:
- massage roller pins with bumps that acts as digits too circulate blood like LeeD said. Take care of not having one that can pinch and pull hairs :-)
- neoprene compression sleeves for the first sessions when going back on the water to protect the muscle. I guess cutting a leg/arm in a old wetsuit could work, too.

Massaging a contusion can actually make it worse and is not recommended.
a compression bandage maybe helpful.
In the early days RICE is recommended. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

It's actually RICER the last r stands for referral
Kisutch has obviously been referred to seabreezers

Thanks for all the feedback! So bummed cause I'm visiting friend at beach and can't surf, I'd be thrilled if this is sorted out in 2 weeks.

I found that during injury R&R, taking pictures of surfing is a great way to ease the pain. Plus it makes lineup friends for when you return to the surf

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micksmith said..

lam said..

colas said..
As a rule of thumb, mild injuries to muscles take 2 weeks to repair.

I have found two cheap devices that help a lot:
- massage roller pins with bumps that acts as digits too circulate blood like LeeD said. Take care of not having one that can pinch and pull hairs :-)
- neoprene compression sleeves for the first sessions when going back on the water to protect the muscle. I guess cutting a leg/arm in a old wetsuit could work, too.

Massaging a contusion can actually make it worse and is not recommended.
a compression bandage maybe helpful.
In the early days RICE is recommended. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

It's actually RICER the last r stands for referral
Kisutch has obviously been referred to seabreezers

If you read his post he has had it checked out and diagnosed he has a contusion aka "a corky". A very common football injury.

Use of ice now debated R"I"CER. One smash took two weeks. Another, two months, busted ribs, hemo and pneumo thorax. Body comes back with TLC. No body armor? Fin jab, fin cuts, large black and blue area. Learning how to bail safely and swim for the gear afterwards, or, even better, work the wave to avoid ....

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supthecreek said..
I found that during injury R&R, taking pictures of surfing is a great way to ease the pain. Plus it makes lineup friends for when you return to the surf

I definitely should have brought my camera gear! Have a 100-400 lens for wildlife that would prob work well for surfers.

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billekrub said..
Use of ice now debated R"I"CER. One smash took two weeks. Another, two months, busted ribs, hemo and pneumo thorax. Body comes back with TLC. No body armor? Fin jab, fin cuts, large black and blue area. Learning how to bail safely and swim for the gear afterwards, or, even better, work the wave to avoid ....

Yes correct agree

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lam said..

micksmith said..

lam said..

colas said..
As a rule of thumb, mild injuries to muscles take 2 weeks to repair.

I have found two cheap devices that help a lot:
- massage roller pins with bumps that acts as digits too circulate blood like LeeD said. Take care of not having one that can pinch and pull hairs :-)
- neoprene compression sleeves for the first sessions when going back on the water to protect the muscle. I guess cutting a leg/arm in a old wetsuit could work, too.

Massaging a contusion can actually make it worse and is not recommended.
a compression bandage maybe helpful.
In the early days RICE is recommended. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

It's actually RICER the last r stands for referral
Kisutch has obviously been referred to seabreezers

If you read his post he has had it checked out and diagnosed he has a contusion aka "a corky". A very common football injury.

I did read his post and I'm just finishing the acronym, if he applied ice you wouldn't have left the "I" out.

'dead leg' injury -- had one?

Yes

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lam said..
Massaging a contusion can actually make it worse and is not recommended.

Sorry, you are right, I wasn't clear. The first 15 days are immediately RICE, then rest only, and then, once you feel cured and ready to go back on the water, use the roller pin before and after sessions, and the compression sleeve for the following weeks or months after the 15 days.

It prevented me re-injuring myself, I guess the muscle sustains some long-term "under the radar" damage and still need some care.

Yeah. I thought I had a bad one a few years ago. The same way I think. Thigh got smashed against the board rail in a close out.
You'll know by the end of a week. I went back surfing. But the pain will tell you if you can or cannot.

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Brenno said..
'dead leg' injury -- had one?

Yes

OMG that's nasty

That one from Brenno ouch. I hit a reef with my thigh. Couldn't squat down for 2 weeks. It was deep as bruising to a week to start to show. I think I was back on the water in one and a half weeks but painful when I was standing up after wipe out etc. Just get to a point where you can work around the pain that is if no structural damage to the leg.

One thing for sure, is it takes a lot longer than it used to...

Did this last Tuesday. Very solid wave, crouched backhand with hand on the rail of 95 litre board lining up for the barrel. The lip detonated on my leg and I watched my bent knee positioned somewhat vertically, fold inwards towards the beach while my foot remained firmly planted on the board. Now (after surgery) the tibia is reinforced with a 10mm titanium rod down it's entire length. Doctor didn't pay too much attention to the fibula. Hopefully that won't happen again. But I got plenty of the biggest beachies ever this day over a morning session and arvo. Two waves earlier I came out of a bomb right-hander (in front of a surfer who shared my stoke). Crawled (literally on all fours) 140 meters up the beach to the shower dragging my floppy, clicking foot right on dusk. Said surfer then saw me lying at the outdoor shower with blankets and pillows over me and said "holy ****" and recounted my bomb barrel to the crew who were around. Now I know what it's like being a tuna on the deck vibrating uncontrollably. All I got at the moment is living through the past, but what an unforgettable run of swell it was.

Ah geezus fellas - between Brenno's photo of the blood-filled cavern where once was a quadricep and the PottyMuzza's x-ray of his tibia and fibula doing their best impression of mulched garden waste - I'm writing to the mods and asking for an 'M' rating to this thread.

Oh man, good luck with the recovery on the leg! I had an analogous experience crashing a mountain bike in the backcountry and breaking my collarbone into 6 pieces; long hike and drive to hospital and now I have a plate in there holding things together. OK not analogous cause I wasn't doing anything cool, just going fast:)

I'm realizing with my leg that I think I hit my IT band, so possibly slower recovery than quadricep contusion (according to PT in my friend network who I spoke with). So frustrating cause spring surf is holding on here and I've been missing some great days.

Well, you will heal and maybe learn something.
Patience.
Had a tib/fib break in 6 places, 6 pins, 14" of wire, and one short plate.
Hip cast 5 months, short cast 8 months.
5 days after release, went surfing with bad leg smaller than my arms and needing crutches to get to the water. Bud carried my board. Lucky for me, it was 6' pounding closeout shorebreak, so I didn't have to try to stand up.

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MangoDingo said..
Ah geezus fellas - between Brenno's photo of the blood-filled cavern where once was a quadricep and the PottyMuzza's x-ray of his tibia and fibula doing their best impression of mulched garden waste - I'm writing to the mods and asking for an 'M' rating to this thread.

Thanks for feedback on this and lol the gnarly images too. I surfed yesterday and felt surprisingly good, so it took exactly 3 weeks to get back on board. Glass and knee to waist high waves, nice mellow day to test the leg.