Hemarthrosis is a condition characterized by an artery bleeding in a joint cavity where two bones meet. It’s common following an injury or in people who suffer from bleeding disorders like hemophilia. Learn about the signs of hemarthrosis and how to treat and prevent bleeding in your joints.
Understanding Your Joints
Your body has many joints, from small ones that allow you to bend your fingers to larger ones like your hips and knees. You have a joint that allows a range of motion where any two bones meet.
Some joints are synovial joints, named after the fluid between your bones. osteoarthritis.
An X-ray won’t show damage to your soft tissue or cartilage. It will help determine if damage to the area was severe enough to fracture your bone or uncover a bone tumor or osteonecrosis.
An MRI or CT scan is more detailed than an X-ray and shows your joints, tendons, and muscles in addition to bones. These scans are used to look for in your joints that may contribute to hemarthrosis. They also show minor fractures that may not appear on an X-ray.
Treating Hemarthrosis
In hemophilia, replacement of the missing blood factor should be done as soon as bleeding in a joint is suspected. When hemarthrosis is treated early, you can prevent chronic joint disease. No matter the cause of hemarthrosis, the following treatments are typically used as well:
- Home treatment, such as immobilization, ice packs, and compression
- Physical therapy
- Orthopedic surgery
- Pain medicine
Preventing Hemarthrosis
The best way to address hemarthrosis is to prevent it. In hemophilia, this means using regularly scheduled infusions as prophylaxis or a preventative measure. In all cases of hemarthrosis, the same treatments used to address the condition may also help prevent damage from being severe. Your doctor may use a splint to immobilize your joint and allow it to heal quicker. It’s important to rest a joint that sustains damage to prevent continued bleeding.
Your doctor wants you to increase your strength around joints that are particularly affected by hemarthrosis. This helps to improve your range of motion and balance, leading to fewer injuries during everyday activities.
It’s also important to maintain a healthy diet and healthy weight. When you get the right nutrients, like calcium and vitamin D, to maintain strong bones, you’re less likely to suffer from hemarthrosis. When you maintain a healthy weight, you have less pressure on your joints, limiting the everyday wear and tear that occurs.