Exercise is an important part of staying healthy. In fact, exercise is an essential key to getting to and staying at a healthy weight, boosting metabolism, and building muscle. But whether you’re a weekend warrior or a student athlete, with exercise sometimes comes injury.
What Are Sports Injuries?
The most common kinds of sports injuries are sprains, strains, fractures, knee and shin injuries, swollen muscles, dislocations, and Achilles tendon injuries. Sports injuries are most often caused by overuse, improper (or lack of) safety equipment, or poor conditioning.
It’s good to know how to treat an injury from playing sports or exercising, and also when an injury is beyond self-care. If an injury causes severe pain, numbness, or swelling, or the injury is to the head, neck, or spine, get medical attention right away. Also see a health professional if an old injury is accompanied by joint instability or increased swelling or when you can’t put any weight on the injured area. If a laceration occurs that needs stitches, get to an urgent care center or emergency room immediately as well. And if you’re not sure how serious your injury is, seeing a doctor is always a good idea.
If your injury is less severe, here are some things you can do at home to help yourself heal.
The RICE Method
Within the first 48 hours, the RICE method is a vital part of the healing process. RICE stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation.
Rest
Decrease your normal activities immediately following an injury. If the injury is to a knee, foot, or ankle, keep weight off of it. Using crutches can help.
Ice
Put a bag of ice or a cold pack on the injured area four to eight times a day for 20 minutes at a time. Cold therapy does several things to help your injury heal. It decreases pain and swelling, helps prevent muscle spasms, and helps the healing process by reducing the risk of cell death in the injured area. But it’s important to limit the application time to 20 minutes to avoid frostbite.
You may also have heard that cold therapy should be combined with hot therapy – for example, moving from an ice pack to a hot compress and back several times a day. This method can help in the later stage of healing, but it’s NOT recommended in the first 48 hours. Heat early on tends to increase swelling and internal bleeding to the injured area.
Compression
Put even pressure on the injured area to help reduce swelling. A compression bandage or elastic wrap bandage can effectively supply the needed compression. An air cast can also be used. Ask a doctor which is best for your particular injury.
If you’re using an elastic wrap bandage, be sure to not wrap the injury too tightly. You will know it is too tight if your injured limb becomes cold or the skin is discolored above or below the bandaged area. If this happens, rewrap the injured area a little less tightly. Wearing the wrap too tightly can actually stop the healing process.
Elevation
Elevate the injured area above the level of your heart using a pillow or two. This can help reduce the swelling. Keep the injured area elevated for as long as possible during the first 48 hours after the injury to promote the best healing.
Other Things You Can Do
The RICE method is a widely recommended standard for sports injury treatment at home, but there is more you can do to promote healing and decrease pain.
Taking a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, such as ibuprofen (e.g., Advil® or Motrin®) or naproxen (e.g., Aleve®), can help decrease both pain and swelling. Acetaminophen (e.g., Tylenol®) may also help with the pain, but it won’t help decrease swelling.
After the first 48 hours, you can use a hot pack either alone or in combination with cold therapy. The heat will help with muscle relaxation in the injured area.
If the injured area does not seem to be getting any better after several days, you may need to see your doctor for additional medical treatment. Depending on the severity of the injury, your doctor could recommend other treatments, including immobilization, physical therapy, ultrasound, or possibly surgery.
The best “treatment” for sports injuries is still prevention. Be careful.
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