Invisible yet agonizing scrape! How do I heal faster?

July 8, 2017 5:44 PM

I fell on the sidewalk about 10 days ago. I have no visible injury but it sure as heck feels like I scraped all the skin off my shin, and it's so painful I am having to restrict my activities. Any ideas what might be going on and how I can get it to heal faster?

I fell quite badly on the sidewalk (ironically while walking home from the doctor). It was very painful especially on the right side of my right shin. I was positive I'd scraped the skin off and that beneath my jeans I'd see a bloody mess, but it only looked slightly red and quickly returned to normal. I have no bruises, no scabs, not even a red spot - but it is extraordinarily painful, as if I had abraded off all the skin on my shin. I knelt for just a moment on July 4 and was overwhelmed by pain. I lightly jostled my shin against the table leg in the lunchroom yesterday and was doubled over in agony. Right now my pant leg is grazing the skin and it feels like a significant sunburn. I have a fairly average tolerance to pain, I think, and the levels of pain here just don't match what can be seen on visual inspection, which is leaving me baffled as to how to manage/treat this. Any ideas?

posted by rednikki to Health & Fitness (9 answers total)

Best answer: This is probably not a hugely promising anecdote, but in 1992 I walked shin-first into a cast iron parking lot barrier and got what a doctor 5 years later called a "bone bruise" (which I just now found out IS a technical term) on my shin, and I noticed somewhere around 2003 that it was no longer at all sore, even if I was getting a vigorous leg rub, though it still felt slightly bumpy there. It was pants-untouchable for a month or more after the initial thunk, untouchable with any pressure for a couple years, and after that it had to be avoided during leg rubs.

I did it again later in the 2000s not far above the original spot and it was about the same - a bad month, a couple years later I'd rub it on purpose even though it hurt (but still have to sit down for a few minutes if I barked it even lightly on something), and it seemed to stop being so terribly touchy and sore.

I very much remember that jeans-pain feeling, even having to keep it out of the shower spray, and nearly greying out hitting it on desk drawers. I don't know how much relief you'll get from a few days routine icing and elevation, or if you should just try seeing a doctor to see if there's anything more than that you can do.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:26 PM on July 8, 2017 [2 favorites]

It is hard to tell if you have road rash or when playing sports and sliding what we used to call a strawberry. The first few showers are actually really painful. If it is that, I would put some ointment on it, and keep it clean. Then, time heals wounds.
posted by AugustWest at 6:37 PM on July 8, 2017

I would put a comfrey ointment on it if I wanted to help it heal faster.
posted by aniola at 8:58 PM on July 8, 2017

There's a reason youth sports (girls soccer) requires shin guards - that shit is painful. Obviously IANAD, IANYD, but anecdotally shins are just super sensitive. I mean, walk too much and they hurt with every step. Ridiculous. With the lack of visible injury, it makes sense that you have some kind of irritation/inflammation under the surface.
posted by DoubleLune at 9:50 PM on July 8, 2017

I'd make sure that you clean the area really well with antibacterial soap, let it dry fully and then place a THIN layer of antibacterial cream over it. It's possible that you have a non-visible topical germ factory that's causing some irritation grief. I've had this with almost-completely-healed tattoos before and it's inexplicably painful!

There's a type of Neosporin that has anti-inflammatory pain relief in it and it's nothing short of magic.
posted by iamkimiam at 4:29 AM on July 9, 2017

If it really is scraped skin that's hurting, a hydrocolloid bandaid will make it feel instantly, magically better, while also promoting healing.
posted by daisyace at 5:09 AM on July 9, 2017

Best answer: Something similar happened to me recently and my doctor also went with bone bruise as the explanation. There was no actual treatment except "dear god do not kneel on anything ever." At about five months out I feel 99% healed except there's still just a tiny bit of numbness in the area.
posted by Stacey at 7:52 AM on July 9, 2017

In a similar situation, my doc recommended warm baths with epsom salts. It seemed to help.
posted by MichelleinMD at 11:25 AM on July 9, 2017

I fell on the sidewalk a few years ago as well and had excruciating pain as I healed. In my case though, I could clearly tell that I had road rash because of the bright pink spot on my brown knee. There was minimal bleeding, but wearing pants, walking or even bending my knee to drive was painful. What helped was keeping the wound slightly moist while new skin slowly grew back. I achieved this through the use of Manuka honey bandages I got from CVS. They kept the wound nicely sealed and kept it from drying out. It took a couple of weeks to heal enough to wear pants without pain. You Might not have road rash, but it might be worth wearing a bandage over the affected area so that the skin isn't irritated while it heals.
posted by watrlily at 11:29 AM on July 9, 2017