Hip Pointer
A hip pointer is a contusion on the pelvis caused by a direct blow or a bad fall at an iliac crest and / or hip bone and a bruise of the abdominal muscles (transverse and oblique abdominal muscles). Surrounding structures such as the tensor fascia lata and the greater trochanter may also be affected. The injury results from the crushing of soft tissue between a hard object and the iliac crest. Contact sports are a common cause of this type of injury, most often in football and hockey in general due to improper equipment and placement. The direct impact can cause an avulsion fracture where a portion of bone is removed by a muscle. The pain is due to the cluneal nerve that runs right along the iliac crest, which makes this a very debilitating injury. This pain can be felt when walking, laughing, coughing or even breathing deeply.
A hip pointer bruise usually causes bleeding into the hip abductor muscles, which move legs sideways, away from the midline of the body. This bleeding into muscle tissue creates swelling and makes leg movement painful. The hematoma that occurs can potentially build on the femoral nerve or lateral cutaneous of the femur. This injury usually lasts from one to six weeks, depending on the damage. In most cases, patients recover completely. A full assessment should be undertaken to rule out the possibility of damage to abdominal organs.
Read more about Hip Pointer: Signs and Symptoms, Management
Famous quotes containing the words hip and/or pointer:
“He’s a man who shoots from the hip. And a man who’s hip when he shoots.”
—Jeremy Larner, U.S. screenwriter. Banquet master of ceremonies (Pat Harrington, Jr.)
“The hardiest skeptic who has seen a horse broken, a pointer trained, or has visited a menagerie or the exhibition of the Industrious Fleas, will not deny the validity of education. “A boy,” says Plato, “is the most vicious of all beasts;” and in the same spirit the old English poet Gascoigne says, “A boy is better unborn than untaught.””
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)