Fitness Tip - Injury Treatment

A few tips back we talked about types of injuries, ways to strengthen weak areas, and how we work around them. What about actually dealing with the injury itself? Let’s just be clear that we are talking acute injuries or injuries that happen suddenly from activity. Chronic injuries need more intense treatment.

I’m sure everyone is familiar with the acronym R.I.C.E. This stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. It is the common and recognized standard practice for recovering from acute training/sport injuries. Let’s look at each component.

REST – This is hard for some people and too easy for others. For someone who is trying to improve their fitness, coming to a complete stop for a week or two may not be a good idea. There are plenty of ways to work around the injury by focusing on other movements. Key point: Rest the injured area but stay moderately active. Also, really make a point of getting enough sleep. Sleep is where the body repairs itself and grows stronger.

ICE – Icing the injury keeps the inflammation and swelling down. This helps draw blood away from the area and improves healing time. This is necessary when the injury first occurs. There are several ways to ice. Using an ice pack, frozen popcorn or peas (Duncan’s favorite), or a total ice bath for the brave souls. Try not to ice for more than 15-20 minutes at time without a 10 minute break. After the swelling is down, then you can apply heat to the area. Moist heat brings blood to the area which brings healing nutrients to the injury.

COMPRESSION- Compression to the injured area slows speeds healing by reducing the inflammation. Compression decreases pain of the injury. The best way to compress an area is to wrap it with sports tape or and ace bandage. Throbbing may signify that the bandage is too tight, so loosen it just enough so it is firm, yet not constricting.

ELEVATION- This also keeps swelling to a minimum. It is most effective to elevate an injured area above the heart. If you have a sprained ankle, while laying down, propping your foot up with a couple of pillows will work.

Once the swelling is down and the injury has had a chance to heal, your trainer can begin to slowly work in exercises, stretching positions to strengthen and retain the effected area.

There is one more grain of rice that we should mention.

Anti-inflammatories - Acetaminophen, Naproxen, and Ibuprofen are all common anti-inflammatory medications. These medications, if used wisely, for a short period of time will really help put the fire out, and reduce the pain so you can stay active. What’s the best? Usually the one that you can take without upsetting your stomach or affecting you adversely in some way. It takes time for the medication to build in your system, so make sure you stick to the dosage schedule even though you might be feeling better.