Quick Hit: What is a Deep Bone Bruise & How Do You Treat One?

Mark Teixeira has been bothered for more than two weeks now by a deep bone bruise that was suffered when he fouled a ball off his shin on August 17th. The great thing about the internet is that if you don't know what a deep bone bruise is or how to treat one you can simply Google it or head over to WebMD.com and diagnose it yourself. Diagnosing injuries and symptoms is fun as long as you're not diagnosing yourself, who would have thought that when your left arm itches and you're tired it could be a possible symptom of cancer, so I decided to look at what a deep bone bruise is and look at just what the Yankees are doing to treat it.

"What is a deep bone bruise?" from WebMD.com:

A bone bruise is a traumatic injury one sustains from a forceful impact during sports, accidents or a direct hit. It is characterized by severe pain that can last for weeks or months, and the best way to help the healing process is to rest, support, and protect the bone or joint involved and to apply conventional treatments for trauma.

"How do you treat a deep bone bruise?" from LiveStrong.com:

Bone bruises are painful and often make daily activities difficult. Bleeding inside a bone -- damage to the bone marrow or the innermost layer of a bone -- may be classified as a bone bruise. These injuries are typically caused by trauma and can take several weeks or even months to fully heal, depending on the area of the body affected. Treatments such as heat, cold, elevation and activity modification can decrease symptoms caused by the injury. Follow your doctor's specific instructions to help your bone bruise heal.

Rest

Rest is often part of the initial treatment for a bone bruise. This allows the body to generate new bone tissue without stressing the injured area, as stress could cause the bone to break. Injuries to the leg or foot may require the use of crutches to reduce the amount of weight placed on the injured bone. A brace, cast or sling may be used to rest bone bruises in the upper extremity. In some cases, you may be able to continue athletic activities while wearing a splint or using athletic tape to support the injured area.