knee bone is bruised!

hello. so i am a dancer. i dance every style, every week, for about 10 hours a week. maybe even more. i have noticed that my left knee, lower back,and hip had been hurting me in summer '09 around august. i didnt let it bother me too much. I kept dancing and doing my daily routine. Then i had really been feeling the pain around February '10. I couldnt rebound from a jump, support myself, and my knee always gave out on me. It is already April and i am still suffering. I just recently took an MRI scan. the docters told me that i have a bruised bone all the way from my hip down to my knee. I am not really sure what a 'bruised bone' means. Is it a big deal? And what can i do to treat it?

[Dr Vinod]

Hello!

This shows that your femur is bruised and for this you would need rest and application of ice packs regularly with intermittent use of NSAIDs.

You muscles and other soft tissue attachments might also be bruised as well and also there might be some stress fracture and inflammation with the continuous physical exercise and the dance routine you have undergone till now.

Eat healthy and have diet rich in protein and calcium like milk, meat etc.

Take care!