A kick to the leg in soccer can lead to a hard mass of scar tissue. Here’s what to do

Q. My 14-year-old son was playing soccer about six weeks ago when he was kicked in his left thigh. At that time, his thigh swelled and his leg was stiff. He rested it and he now feels good enough to play. He noticed a hard lump where he got kicked that has gotten bigger. It is slightly tender to the touch and we are worried it could be a tumor. Have you ever heard of a tumor forming after a kick and what should we do to reassure ourselves?

A. It is very likely when your son sustained a kick to his thigh that he developed a quadriceps muscle contusion. When this happens, in addition to swelling, there is some bleeding into the muscle called a hematoma.

In some young athletes, the hematoma forms into a ball of scar tissue. Depending upon the severity of injury and how the injury was treated, the scar tissue can become hard and even form bone in the muscle.

This is called myositis ossificans. Even though this sounds bad, most athletes do not loss function of their knee, muscle or hip.

I recommend you see an orthopedic surgeon to confirm this is a benign condition with an exam and X-ray. In the future, there are ways to reduce the risk of this complication such as rest, crutches and ice. Sometimes a brace can be applied post-injury with the knee flexed to decrease the risk of loss of motion and down time.

Dr. Harlan Selesnick is team physician of the Miami Heat and director of Miami Sports Medicine Fellowship, Doctors Hospital. Send your questions to HarlanS@baptisthealth.net

This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 6:00 AM.