Black and blue on the lower quad area

[Maccabee]

Lately, this past 2 months after a heavy session of squats and deadlifts I get bruising on my lower quad area. Right on the vastus medialis. Both sides of the quad.

It hurts when I poke it lol, but it heals after a full week.

The first time the bruising on my left quad was the size of my hand. The right quad was half the size.

I am still training because I am not injured...just hurt. It doesnt bother me that much but is this normal. Does this happen often to anyone?

Just to let you know I am not doing anything new with my training. Just straight sets pyramiding up in weight. I didnt take a break because I feel really good. I warm up very well too. I do foam rolling and stretching as well.

I just dont want to get anything seriously torn. Thank you.

[Machine]

What pain level does this produce...does it limit your range of motion or power out of the hole...are you wrapping your knees or wearing knee sleaves...have you heard any tearing, popping, or clicking...have you felt any instability in the joints...have you seen a physician?

I know this is a lot of questions, but I need a larger point of reference...also, we need to ascertain if this is a tweak or the early warning signs of a serious rupture. I have many broken blood vessels in my lower quad area from knee wraps and heavy training...is this the case with you?

Maybe we should get a doc to check this out? Do you have medical insurance?

Can you post a picture of the affected area...hit me back before you totally rupture that fucking thing.

MACHINE

[Maccabee]

What pain level does this produce...does it limit your range of motion or power out of the hole...are you wrapping your knees or wearing knee sleaves...have you heard any tearing, popping, or clicking...have you felt any instability in the joints...have you seen a physician?

I know this is a lot of questions, but I need a larger point of reference...also, we need to ascertain if this is a tweak or the early warning signs of a serious rupture. I have many broken blood vessels in my lower quad area from knee wraps and heavy training...is this the case with you?

Maybe we should get a doc to check this out? Do you have medical insurance?

Can you post a picture of the affected area...hit me back before you totally rupture that fucking thing.

MACHINE

When this minor injury occured my lower quad area just turned black and blue. I still have a full range of motion. With in 7-10 days the bruising is gone after using a lot of ice. I dont wrap my knees or use knee sleaves. Currently the bruising is not there anymore.

When this injury occured I was squating and I felt a small rip. That is what I am guessing caused it.

When I do seated leg curls or leg extensions there is a clicking sound on my right knee for every rep but it does not hurt. When these injuries occured I felt a sharp pain behind my knee on the right side as well.

I dont have medical insurance. I can not afford a doctor with my income.

This has happened to me once a month for the past two months.

I only made this post to find out if this is normal or not. To tell you the truth I still squatted after the bruising went away except this time there is clicking in the knees. There is instability but very little.

Only way I can heal this is to continue iceing and resting.

I got worried because it happened twice in such a close time period.

[Maccabee]

I also wanted to mention that I get bruising constantly in other areas of my body but not as big as the quads.

In the past 2-3 months I got bruising on my biceps, hamstrings, back, and usually I get more on my chest and abs.

Its not a big deal. The bruising is like the size of a quarter. I usually get 2-3 in a row on one muscle. It does not hurt unless I poke it. I have full range of motion. I feel fine even with the quad.

I just wait until the bruising goes away and I continue to train the muscle.

I dont want to stop training.

[BigChrisF]

Sounds a lot like a partial tear of something. Typically you will not see a lot of bruising when tearing connective tissue and it really doesn't hurt at all. The clicking in the joint makes me think that this is a likely candidate. The only good way to find out is to get an MRI. Costs a lot of money. If it's still in the partial stage you can take time off and it will (hopefully) heal on it's own. If you persist and blow the whole thing and it retracts, you will have no other recourse but surgical intervention.

I've hurt the tendon in the back of my knee twice now and it takes about a month off squatting and then I cautiously work back into it. Last time it happened was this time last year and I just had a pr squat at this years nationals.

[Machine]

I also wanted to mention that I get bruising constantly in other areas of my body but not as big as the quads.

In the past 2-3 months I got bruising on my biceps, hamstrings, back, and usually I get more on my chest and abs.

Its not a big deal. The bruising is like the size of a quarter. I usually get 2-3 in a row on one muscle. It does not hurt unless I poke it. I have full range of motion. I feel fine even with the quad.

I just wait until the bruising goes away and I continue to train the muscle.

I dont want to stop training.

No none here wants to stop training brother, this knee injury sounds acute in nature to me and does worry me...you need to shift training gears and move into a lighter training cycle which is predicated around conditioning. This will enable you to take a step back and re-assess this knee situation.

Globally, this bruising all ove rthe body speaks to me of something you should definately see a doctor about. You must remember, you can walk into any emergency room, they cannot refuse treatment, and you can pay them $5 dollars a week until it is paid off. I speak form personal experience on this my friend...and I am from Queens to boot! Do not put this off for too long, trust me, I have paid into the medical system way more than I ever wanted to, times were lean in the beginning...do the sensible thing here...dont want to see you laid up.

Good Luck.

MACHINE

[BigChrisF]

They can refuse treatment after the doctor assesses that there is nothing life threatening and you are stable. After that, they can tell you to hit the bricks. This doesn't usually happen though. Hospitals prefer to hound you into bankrupcy.

[FITGYM]

You can always get some blood work done. It's a small price to pay to see whats going on in the body.

[Cellardweller]

Like Machine said, the ER will treat you. Unexplained bruising in different places of your body could be serious. An ER doctor will not just eye-ball you and discharge you. If it was just your quads it would be different. You will have blood work for sure. The ER's purpose is to rule out the big stuff so they'll check your blood counts, electrolytes, clotting factors, kidney function and probably your liver function too.

[Machine]

I hope you make the correct decision here man...I am no freind of Hospitals or the Medical profession in general...but you need to get this situation professionally assessed.

MACHINE

[Maccabee]

Thank you all for contributing. I really appreciate your advice.

I am going to follow what Machine said about the lighter training cycle which is predicated around conditioning. I am going to take it easy for a few weeks until I heal. I wont do anything crazy in the gym.

I consider myself a strength athlete. Its in my nature to lift heavy. I hate lifting light weight it makes me feel weak and useless, but I have no choice.

I will try to figure out a way to get it checked out.

Once again I thank you all.

[Cstlfx]

I would suggest at the very least trying to get some blood work done. Search hard for some centers that do blood-work without insurance, doctor's reference, etc. I hope they have something like they have down where I live. Cheap, inexpensive tests, such as liver for $10, lipid levels $8, etc, etc.

There are also clinics that you can go to where if you dont have insurance they'll base you co-pay off your income, just to see if they have anything important to say other than get such and such tests done.

[Maccabee]

I would suggest at the very least trying to get some blood work done. Search hard for some centers that do blood-work without insurance, doctor's reference, etc. I hope they have something like they have down where I live. Cheap, inexpensive tests, such as liver for $10, lipid levels $8, etc, etc.

There are also clinics that you can go to where if you dont have insurance they'll base you co-pay off your income, just to see if they have anything important to say other than get such and such tests done.

Thank you very much for this. I will check it out.

[B. Rowe]

Please do get blood work done, with the significant global bruising occurring there seems to be some underlying hematological issue ( low blood cell count, thin blood). The issue with the knee sounds like a connective tissue tear, possibly meniscus which is most common. This will cause swelling in the area and a general sense of discomfort. But the bruising is a separate an issue on its own. Take it easy with the leg training for a few weeks and see if symptoms are still there. But dont hesitate with the blood work. And remember, a few weeks now to rest the knee is better than 4-6 months recovering from surgery.

[Cellardweller]

Walk into your local ER and ask for a list of free clinics and if there are any free clinics for the working uninsured. Doctors volunteer their time as a tax deduction sometimes. This is why Wal Mart, Meijer and Sam's Club offer free or discounted antibiotics. Hospitals sometimes have their own charities to help uninsured patients funded by the hospital's employees. Help is out there.

[B. Rowe]

Any update on condition?

[Maccabee]

I dont get any bruising anymore.

My knee is not swolen.

This past few days I did have pain under the knee and around the side of the knee.

Once I felt the pain I started putting ice on it.

Now I am happy that there is no longer pain in my knee.

Its not fully stable and there is no way in hell I am going to squat anything near my max.

I can fully extend it without a problem and walking is much easier. I was limping for a few days.

Also, I am doing more stretching and foam rolling.

I know my problem was that I kept pushing myself to hard and I was willing to sacrifice anything to reach my goal. I didnt listen to my body and I got hurt.

Overall it is getting better and I am hoping to squat as soon as my knee stops clicking in the joints and stability is regained. It kind of feels a little loose.

I am sure things will get better.

[B. Rowe]

Good to hear the pain and swelling is subsiding. Just be careful, if you are feeling instability that is a sign of ligament issues not just connective tendon such as the meniscus. Take is easy and be smart, if it continues over the next few weeks then it may be time to get it examined. Best of luck to you

[Maccabee]

Good to hear the pain and swelling is subsiding. Just be careful, if you are feeling instability that is a sign of ligament issues not just connective tendon such as the meniscus. Take is easy and be smart, if it continues over the next few weeks then it may be time to get it examined. Best of luck to you

Thank you for the advice. I appreciate it.