|
What
to do with sprains and strains
There is a lot of talk of skiing holidays from patients
at the moment, but a walk in the hills or simply navigating
the obstacle course left by your kids in the front room
can leave you with similar injuries.
If you are unlucky enough to suffer a sprain or strain
then there are a number of things you can do immediately
which will help speed recovery and allow us to do more
for you when you stagger into the practice.
What these two complaints have in common is that they
are immediately painful, incapacitating, sometimes frightening
and always extremely inconvenient. They both involve
local tissue damage causing swelling.
What should you do you?
The answer is RICE.
Rest - The first thing is to get into a comfortable
position. If you are lucky someone will be around to
help lower you in to a chair. Rest the offending part
by taking the weight off it. If it is your back, lie
down.
Ice - Hopefully the same kind soul that lowered you
in to your seat will also get you an ice pack. If this
is not available anything cold will do; a piece of cloth
run under the cold tap. Place the cold on the bit that
hurts. Keep it there for 3-5 minutes. Repeat this treatment
often, every half an hour if you can manage. This is
very important as it will bring the swelling down.
Compression - If you have to weight bear on the joint,
give it some support by strapping. This is easy with
a knee or ankle but not so easy with a back. Holding
onto someone or something will ease the strain of walking.
Elevation - If the offending part is amenable to this,
raise it up. An ankle can be raised on several cushions
so that it is above the hip. This allows drainage away
from the joint, again decreasing swelling.
Finally get on the phone to us and get in as soon as
possible. The longer these things are left, the harder
they are to get better.
What should you not do?
Never put hot on an acute injury. Hot will increase
the swelling and the congestion. It may seem comforting
but it is not doing you any good at all.
Return
to the Back to Front Newsletter>>
|
