Swelling

Overview

Swelling is actually a body natural response to injury and it is characterized by an abnormal enlargement of a body part. The enlargement can be due to fluid including blood, the fluid which accumulated outside the tissue, or bony malformation. There are several types of swelling like effusion which is a collection of fluid within the joint capsule, haemarthrosis which is a collection of blood within the joint capsule and oedema which is a collection of fluid that can occur in any part of the body. It can occur acutely right after an injury or as chronic where the swelling will persist due to the underlying cause. The management for swellings are resting of the injured area, ice packing to reduce pain, compression to control the swelling and elevation of the injured area to reduce swelling and bleeding.