Hematoma refers to the medical condition in which the blood collects in a certain part of the body, followed by discoloration and swelling. The main symptoms of hematoma include swelling, tenderness of the muscles in the affected area and appearance of contusions after the injury. It usually occurs after a muscle injury in which a ligament or tendon has been torn and there is bleeding that accompanies the injury. The severity of the hematoma depends on the severity of the injury. Hematoma in the leg is usually worse than one in the arm, since the pressure of blood is more in the legs and thus the blood vessels bleed much more.
Incase of any such injury, you should immediately apply an ice pack to stem the flow of blood and thus reduce the resulting hematoma. As far as possible you should keep the injured area raised so that the blood flows away from the spot of injury and thus there is reduced hematoma. It is equally important to rest you leg as much as possible so that the muscles can heal faster. In addition to this keep the injured area bandaged using an elastic adhesive bandage if possible. This will apply a pressure on the wound and help to reduce the bleeding and swelling. Apart from this, you should apply a hot compress on the injured area to speed the healing process. You can use warm towels or a heating pad or a hot water bottle and apply it firmly to the injured area every 15 to 20 minutes. This will have a soothing effect and reduce the pain. You can follow this by applying an ice pack on the injured area to reduce the swelling caused by the heat. This procedure helps to reduce the bleeding and the swelling. If the swelling and pain show no signs of reducing and you begin to show symptoms of an infection you should immediately contact a doctor for adequate medication. Apart from this, it is important to increase your intake of Vitamin C by consuming more of citrus fruits, grapefruit, green peppers etc to increase your immunity and improve your body's ability to heal faster. Vitamin K is also beneficial for clotting and thus for healing hematoma so you should also increase your intake of beets, spinach, Brussels sprouts etc or apply creams with Vitamin K. Finally ensure that your diet includes plenty of proteins to regain your strength and original muscle power. Also remember to warm-up properly before you begin exercising slowly and not to over exert yourself.
answered by G M