I slipped and the middle of my shin ran into the edge of a board, then scraped down a few inches to my ankle. It looks like a deep gash on my shin, although it didn t actually break the surface of my skin. Right after the injury, the area that now looks like a gash was pure white in the center and didn t appear to fill with blood until the next day. It hasn t bruised much, but it is swollen. Although I did not injure my foot or ankle initially, both areas are increasingly more painful and more swollen than the injured area. I am a 37-year-old female and I have never broken a bone. I can walk but it hurts somewhat, and any time spent on my feet causes the swelling to increase. Is this injury likely to heal on its own? At what point should I start to become concerned and seek medical help?