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There are those who say you have to cool and those who say you have to warm your leg, there are those who say you should rest and those who say you should keep using it as you would normally. It makes sense that the cooling stops the internal bleeding (so I do this right after training) and it makes sense that warming your muscle helps the recovery (so I do this the day after).

Do you guys have any tips of how to speed up the recovery even more? And is the method how I do it wrong?

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What did you do, how does it look, how does it feel, when did it happen? – Dave Liepmann May 31 '12 at 14:09
The question is more aimed at the regular bruise. The sore leg you get after recieving a hard low kick (no broken leg or joint). It's actually such injury that doesn't really needs the attend of a doctor but still sore and pretty stiff. I tend to get them a lot with Pencak Silat and Kickboxing. – Bart Burg May 31 '12 at 14:18
I think icing first, which IMO is more for reducing blood flow hence swelling (which can cause additional damage), then heating later (24-48 hrs) is about the best you can do. The more it's used the more blood circulates--this could help healing, but also prolong bruising--depends. I try to keep things moving, though. – Dave Newton May 31 '12 at 15:02
In contrast, how can I speed up the injury of a healthy knee? – Jack B Nimble Jun 4 '12 at 18:33
@JackBNimble I think you target that I shouldn't be getting them at all? – Bart Burg Jun 5 '12 at 11:43

6 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

Icing reduces swelling. That is the only reason to ice as far as I know. Swelling can inhibit the motion of joints and make the injury more painful. It may also take a long time to reduce back to normal levels. Icing is effective up to about 48 hours after the injury occurred. Basically, if it keeps swelling, then icing it will continue to help stop that swelling.

Warmth increases blood flow, which is involved with healing. So after the swelling stops being an issue, increasing blood flow will help healing. Exercise also increases blood flow, so that could also be beneficial, so long as you don't worsen the injury in doing so.

EDIT: Another way to reduce swelling is to strap the area using sports tape. This literally compresses area so that it cannot swell as much. The strapping can also help in stabilising joints, and I have used this technique with a rolled ankle which swelled a lot. Not too tight though!

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up vote 2 down vote

The things that help for me, or maybe I only thought they did, were:

  • stretching and warming up thoroughly in the morning
  • going for walks
  • drinking plenty of water
  • eating lots of quality food

In other words, the things we should be doing normally.

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up vote 2 down vote

For me icing is the most effective. On the first two days, I iced bruised area for ten minutes. It keeps my bruised area from going black.

And I go jogging once a week. I feel that lots of minor injuries go away after running, since it helps blood flows.

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Instead of jogging I do swimming and yes it's good to keep it moving. Does icing really help on the second day? – Bart Burg Jun 4 '12 at 6:12
Swimming is likely better than jogging, less impact. Also with icing, be careful not to leave the ice pack on too long (going numb is not good =) – Campbeln Jun 6 '12 at 1:03
up vote 2 down vote

I do gymnastics and I'm the worst on beam. What I do is I ice my bruises overnight, then let them rest and get warm until about 12 then ice it again.

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up vote 0 down vote

All of these sound like "dirty hippy" solutions, but they work well for me!

  • Epsom Salts - Take a warm bath with 0.5 - 1 cup of Epsom Salts added, soak injured section for as long as possible (may work in a cold bath, just never tried it).
  • Arnica Cream - Use like "deep heat", rubbing the cream into the effected area.
  • Cold showers/baths after training/injury. A lot of the pros are doing ice baths now, as it slows damage and aids in recovery (I've personally not been brave enough to try this).

I've got an injury to my hand now (low block to a shin) and the Arnica takes the sting from the bruise for half the day per application. Great stuff!

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Can I advice you not to use low blocks against kicks ;)? I think you can hurt your hand to easilly with it and you open your defence with it. Thanks for the answer though! – Bart Burg Jun 6 '12 at 10:56
1  
No worries =) As to the low block, it's a TKD low block, so it was "proper", but yea... metacarpal < tibia! BUT my sparing partner did say "ouch, that was a heck of an elbow", so I took that as a big compliment! – Campbeln Jun 6 '12 at 11:13
Low blocks against kicks is pretty core to TKD - just remember, the block isn't there to stop the kick, but to deflect it to one side or the other. So long as your stance is correct, you should be a narrow target, so you don't need to deflect far. That said, we have one guy at my class whose kicks come in like sledgehammers - your block still needs to be pretty solid or the kick will stay on target. – Rophuine Jun 14 '12 at 2:30
up vote 0 down vote

I haven't tried this myself, but a few of my friends who compete in Iron Man and the likes are big fans of compression clothing for use after training and competition. Supposedly it prevents the muscles from swelling up with blood, and reduces recovery time.

Might be worth a shot - http://www.2xu.com/product/239/Compression-Tight/12/296?set=us

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