What is a Dead Leg
This injury is very common in contact sports. An impact to the muscles can cause more damage than you might expect and should be treated with a lot of care.
In Karate the quadriceps muscle is hit by a kick, in football more often by a knee.
The muscle is crushed against the bone causing quite a lot of damage, ( just visualize the butcher tenderizing the meat ).
There are 2 types of ‘ Dead Leg ‘:
Inter-muscular which means the muscle and the sheath surrounding the muscle have been torn, there should be visible bruising within 24 hours depending on the gravity, it may look a lot worst then actually is as the bruising can be quite extensive but usually recovery is much quicker.
Intramuscular is likely not to have any bruising as the sheath covering the muscle may remain intact, as the fluids cannot escape there maybe local swelling, numbeness and severe loss of function recovery can take weeks.
There is also a possibility that a vein has been damaged, within 48 hours the whole leg may swell up in this case the patient must go immediately to the hospital.
How to fix it:
R.I.C.E for the first 2 to 5 days
Limph drainage massage techniques, to stimulate lymph system to move along fluids and dead blood cells.
Gentle passive stretches, to gradually increase range of movement.
Strengthening and conditioning of the injured muscle.
Static Cycling is always a good option to maintain fitness and it can be performed at a very low pace.
If not treated correctly then Myositis Ossificans may result.
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