Bruises - A Serious Health Risk for Hoopers
I have been reading with growing alarm accounts of people hooping on bruises and even getting hematomas (lumps of displaced blood under the skin) and still continuing to hoop. It is scaring the pants off me!!! This is the most common public health issue for hoopers and it is much more dangerous than most people realize.
DO NOT HOOP ON BRUISES!!!!
We should never, ever, never ever, batter a bruise. Some people think it's a badge of honor (I can't tell you how many people have said that to me) but what it is is a danger to your health -- both now and in the future, long after you've forgotten this bruise. Any emergency room doctor will tell you that a bruise is a trauma injury. Bruises are to be nursed until they heal. No other animal would get a bruise and continue to beat on it. It just ain't natural! But if you've ever had a car accident and gotten a big bruise, your doctor probably explained to you the importance of not continuing to injure that area. For the rest of us though, unless you have access to someone in sports medicine, you probably don't know this.
DO NOT HOOP ON BRUISES!!!!
A bruise is a broken blood vessel (either a vein, an artery or a capillary) beneath the skin. The discoloration comes from leaking blood under the skin. As soon as the break happens, the blood starts to clot to stop the bleeding. If you keep battering it, you increase the likelihood of releasing a clot into the bloodstream. Clots in the bloodstream can cause heart attack, stroke, varicose veins and numerous other very bad things, some of which you can die from, some of which don't manifest for years. Do not hoop on bruises. Let them heal. And tell other hoopers. I can't stress enough how important this is.
A hematomoa is similar to a bruise. It is a collection of blood outside of a blood vessel and occurs when the wall of the blood vessel (artery, vein or capillary) has been damaged and blood has leaked where it doesn't belong. It can cause a swelled lump that may be tiny but they can get pretty big also. If you have one of these, stop hooping on it! Know that hematomas are made from old blood. A hematoma has no blood supply of its own and is therefore at risk for colonization with bacteria, which can cause problems for adjacent organs as well. Adjacent areas can also be affected by swelling. Swelling is never good for us. Treatment is often tailored to the patient according to the location of the hematoma and whether or not the patient can take blood thinning drugs and/or ibuprofen. Most hematomas can be treated with RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. I also recommend treating it with Arnica lotion and if it doesn't start to go down in a couple of days, see a doctor.
Pay attention to your body! Yes, your mother was right. You can overdo it with hooping. Let yourself heal. Take a break or at least practice on another site.
Treatment of Bruises
- Rest the bruised area. This promotes healing by taking undue pressure from the bruised area and prevents further injury.
- Apply ice packs to the bruised area. This will help keep the bruise from spreading. Alternate periods of ice application with equal periods of non-application to ensure the tissue does not become numb.
- Use an elastic wrap to put pressure on the bruised area. This pressure helps to limit blood flow to the bruise.
- Elevate the bruised area above heart level. This helps stop blood from gathering in the surrounding tissue.
- Apply Arnica lotion and/or ointments containing Vitamin K on the bruised area. Arnica floods the area with new healing blood cells. Vitamin K aides the body's blood absorption. Less blood in the area will reduce the size of the bruise.
- Some people can take acetaminophen for pain relief but this really depends on whether or not you can take it. I find Arnica gives me all the pain relief I need. It has natural analgesic properties and provides pain relief on contact.
Arncia lotion helps bruises heal faster and will get you back in your hoop faster. A bruise can take 10 or so days to heal. Arnica reduces that healing time TREMENDOUSLY! You can get it at any natural foods store. A tube costs less than $10 and will last for years. Every hooper should have it on them all the time. It's the most valuable medicine in my hooper's med kit. (Note: I have read that some people have a skin allergy to Arnica. In all my years using it I have never seen this but I want to point it out just in case. If you get a rash, stop using it.)
You can also pad areas. Fingerless gloves are great for padding the back of the hands while they toughen up and your technique improves. You can stuff a folded wash cloth down the front of your jeans to protect your hip bones. You can wear dancer's kneepads on your knees.
You might also switch to a lighter hoop or, conversely, add several layers of tape to your hoop to make it more grippy. Bruises are usually caused not by a hoop going over and over a place but from catching a bit of air and coming down hard on a place. It is a blunt force trauma injury. Anything you can do to prevent that, will help, including using grip tapes and grippy clothes.
Again, I can't say it enough, do not hoop on bruises. Please tell others also -- Do not hoop on bruises. If your bruises are your badge of honor, take a picture of them and then let them heal! This is a public health issue that affects many, many hoopers and I cannot stress the importance of it enough. We must spread the word. I love my hooper friends and I want you all to live long, happy, healthy lives. Please pass the word.
Replies to This Discussion
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StudentPermalink Reply by Tara on -
Good looking out Caroleeena! The same can be said for any type of hoop injury; let yourself heal. It's very easy to throw out your back, twist a muscle, hurt your wrist, ect. Thorough stretching before and after a session helps with this, but they still occur!
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StudentPermalink Reply by shimarella* on -
Thanks for the PSA Caroleena! Lots of sensible advice there...especially the not hooping on a bruise bit. I'm going to share the post.
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StudentPermalink Reply by Fleur de Hoops on -
My Blood Clot Experience:
Coming from someone who has had a large blood clot from the top of my thigh to my knee (not from bruising) I recommended everyone reads this and follows it. I spent a month in the hospital (In Singapore of all places) with tubes in my legs trying to clear out a massive clot. It was difficult to deal with and I still have problems every day.
During the clot:
Heavy medication, possibly catheter induced treatment. As I said before mine was in my leg, so they inserted a tube through the back of my knee all the way up the vein into the groin area. That stayed in for 5, 6 days, breaking down the clot with some 'clot buster' as I call it. I couldn't get out of bed or move from laying on my back. Even more severe, you could lose a limb or have a pulmonary embolism.
What happens after the clot:
You will be on blood thinners for as long as your doc wants you to be...Me, I will have to take them for life. You will also have to wear compression stockings to keep the swelling down in your leg or whatever body part because if you don't in a few years you will develop ulcers and have a difficult time moving. These stockings also make it harder to hoop.Genetic Predisposition
Something that people may not know is that there are genetic factors that can increase you ability to get clots. This puts you at an even higher risk of developing one. And if you are prone to eating large amounts of Vitamin K such as broccoli, this makes your blood thicker and able to clot faster. The genetic condition is called factor 5 leiden and you can get tested for it. I wish I had before because now I am screwed. I am not only losing my ability to do what I love, but I am also losing my Naval career. But thankfully my family knows that they have it and they can take extra precautions.
So please please listen to what Caroleeena has to say...My story may be from a different situation but the results could end the same. I don't wish what happened to me on anyone.
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Permalink Reply by Ciera Rose on -
Thanks for posting this! ... although I couldn't read past the second paragraph cause I could just feel how gross it was :P (I hope you know what I mean haha).
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StudentPermalink Reply by Goldfish on -
Thanks Caroleeena! I have wanted to say something about this myself. I ALWAYS say.. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BODY! I just can't say it enough. If something is causing you pain, or if you are feeling weak, fatigued, shaky, light headed etc... that is your body trying to tell you something! It seems like it should be common sense that a healthy happy body shouldn't be feeling these things. But I hear over and over again of people describing such symptoms and thinking they can just ignore them and push through, whether it is hooping on an injury or starving yourself of nutrition... I worry for people's health and safety. Thanks so much for posting. I hope people will read this and take better care of themselves. <3
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Permalink Reply by Erin/Lady Hoops Alot on -
Thank you. I actually read another another post or reply you wrote and I went and searched out the Arnica cream and I does help. Before that I did not know how dangerous it was. I have since utilized your advise. I just need some fingerless gloves as my hands from time to time still bruise. Thank you again for the advise...I have started to pass it along.
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Permalink Reply by Caroleeena of Circles of Joy on
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Leather batting gloves work really well too. Also, band supply places sell gloves that have sticky on the palm for people twirl flags and batons in the cold.
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Permalink Reply by Ashash on -
I have two tiny bruises smaller than the size of a penny each. They don't hurt much, and I was just wondering if size matters in this case? Can I still hoop or do I have to wait for them to go away? ( I hope this isn't too dumb of a question. )
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Like all athletic endeavors, it's about risk assessment. If the bruises are where they will be battered, I'd suggest avoiding that area. The bigger the bruise, the bigger the risk. If it's on your hip, practice hand hooping. Or pad the area so that it is not further traumatized. You have to make your own choices but it's important to make them from an informed place.
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Permalink Reply by Ashash on
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Hmm okay. I think I should be able to pad the area (right hip bone) and try to keep the hoop up around my waist. They're so tiny and light colored, I was just a little curious if they would get bigger/worse with continued hooping. Thanks =)
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Yeah, they will definitely get bigger and worse if you continue to hoop on them.
Most people stop bruising as their technique improves and their skin gernerally toughens up. If you've been hooping a long time and you still get bruises all over, especially if you're using a lighter hoop or a more padded hoop but you're still getting bruises, you could have a possible vitamin deficiency in vitamins C, K, B12, or folic acid. Something to think about for everyone.
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StudentPermalink Reply by Nichole Bair SenseSublimity on -
You are sooo freakin sweet.....such a nurturer ;) thank you for spreading this extremely important information <3
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