Vladimir Guerrero and the Los Angeles Angels are in trouble. They are down 2-0 to the Boston Red Sox and are looking at the business end of a sweep. To make matters worse, Vlad was nailed by a pitch from Manny Delcarmen. Vlad was removed from the game with a shoulder contusion.

What is a shoulder contusion? A shoulder contusion is a fancy way of saying shoulder bruise. A contusion is a bruise. If you watch the replays on TV, you'll see Vlad takes a nasty pitch to his left shoulder. This is what caused his bruise. Bruises occur due to blunt force trauma to an area of your body. In most cases the bruise is in soft tissue. When this occurs damage to your capillaries has happened. 

What are the symptoms of a shoulder bruise? You're going to feel pain ranging from mild discomfort rising to insanity. Bruises come in different severities, with the majority of them being either somewhat sever or not very severe. Regardless of the severity, it's going to sting or feel like a dull pain. The area hit may redden before turning a purple or even yellow color. The color change is due repair work your body is doing. Blood begins to break down in the area where the damaged capillaries are located. With more sever shoulder bruises your range of motion will be limited.

How do you treat a shoulder bruise? Rest, ice and over the counter pain medication. For shoulder bruises of greater severity you may want to use an arm sling to avoid reinjuring the bruise.

How long does it take to come back from a shoulder bruise? Low severity bruises won't keep you out of the action. Play through the pain. Higher severity bruises that limit your mobility or are the source of internal bleeding will take longer to heal. Expect to wait 2-4 weeks for total healing.