The benefits of sports and exercise far outweigh the risks, but occasionally injuries do happen.
What causes sports injuries
Sports injuries can be caused by:
An accident – such as a fall or heavy blow
Not warming up properly before exercising
Using inappropriate equipment or poor technique
Pushing yourself too hard
Almost any part of the body can be injured, including the muscles, bones, joints and connective tissues (tendons and ligaments). The ankles and knees are particularly prone to injury.
What to do if you have an injury
If you've injured yourself, you may have immediate pain, tenderness, swelling, bruising, and restricted movement or stiffness in the affected area. Sometimes, these symptoms may only be noticeable several hours after exercising or playing sports.
Stop exercising if you feel pain, regardless of whether your injury happened suddenly or you’ve had the pain for a while. Continuing to exercise while injured may cause further damage and slow your recovery.
Minor injuries, such as mild sprains and strains, can often be initially treated at home using PRICE principle for two or three days.
PRICE stands for protection, rest, ice, compression and elevation.
"P" - Protection
Protect the injured person and the area being treated but also protect yourself. If the injury occurs on the sports field, stop the game.
Protect the area being treated with a splint if possible.
If the athlete can move, carefully move them to a safer area using a stretcher or a crutch, but if there is any doubt, do not move the injured athlete.
"R" - Rest
When a patient is injured, the body responds to defend, localize, protect, and clean up the injured area, a response called inflammation. At the time of injury small blood vessels at the injury site rupture and cause tissue bleeding, which, in turn, can cause bruising and swelling.
There are five warning signs of inflammation:
Pain
Redness;
Tissue hotness;
Swelling, and
Loss of function.
Not every injury exhibits all these signs, but if your patient is in pain then it is important to stop exercising immediately to avoid further damage.
"I" - Ice
Cryotherapy can easily be applied using a bag of crushed ice, frozen peas or a cold pack. It must then be wrapped in a damp tea towel to form a barrier between the bag of ice and the skin; this reduces the risk of an “ice burn”. Do not leave the ice on for more than 20 minutes.
As soon as possible after injury, begin applying ice continuously for the first 15-20 minutes to decrease swelling and pain.
The safest form of icing is to use a plastic bag with ice cubes or crushed ice, or instant cold packs. Do not use “blue ice” or “gel packs”.
While icing will be uncomfortable at first, in 2 to 3 minutes, the skin will go numb and the ice bag will feel more comfortable.
The ice bag can be secured in place using an elastic bandage, but the compression should not be too tight.
During the application of the ice, ask the patient to wiggle their fingers/toes and monitor tissue around the area that is being iced to ensure that they are not experiencing a loss of sensation.
Icing for 15-20 minutes with an ice bag is unlikely to cause nerve damage or frostbite; however, any loss of sensation and any changes in tissue colouration in areas other than the area that is being iced indicate that the application is no longer safe.
Because ice and plastic bags are so important, make sure that someone brings these to every practice and game. Better yet, to be on the safe side, bring your own!
"C" - Compression
Applying compression to an injured area minimizes the amount of swelling that forms after an injury. Compression will increase the pressure within the tissue, thus narrowing the blood vessels (vasoconstriction) and preventing excessive bleeding. It will also reduce inflammation by moderating the amount of fluid (exudate) that the body produces to protect the injured tissue, which can significantly reduce the overall healing time.
After icing, to further prevent swelling, wrap the injured area with an elastic bandage or compression sleeve.
Take the wrap and start farthest away from the injured body part to the heart.
Continuously wrap, always making sure to cover half of the previously wrapped area.
As you get closer to the end of the wrap, you don’t need to wrap as tightly.
You will know you have wrapped correctly when the hurt part ends up in the middle of the wrap.
Tension should be firm but still comfortable. Tingling or pain means it’s too tight.
Incorrect application of an elastic wrap could cause further pain and damage and delay healing.
Some areas of the body have superficial nerves just below the skin which can be damaged by applying cold therapy. Ice should not be applied directly to the:
Neck
Collar bone
Front of the hip bone (ASIS)
Outer bone of the elbow/knee (Lateral Epicondyle)
Kidneys (located just below the ribs towards the back)
"E" - Elevation
For both upper and lower limb injuries, it is equally important to keep the limb elevated to minimize swelling. Elevation to the level of the heart or above allows for excess fluid to be pumped back into the blood vessel system and will help prevent further swelling from occurring.
Recovery from an injury
Depending on the type of injury you have, it can take a few weeks to a few months or more to make a full recovery.
You shouldn't return to your previous level of activity until you've fully recovered, but you should aim to gently start moving the injured body part as soon as possible.
Gentle exercises should help to improve the area’s range of movement. As movement becomes easier and the pain decreases, stretching and strengthening exercises can be introduced.
Make sure you don't try to do too much too quickly because this can delay recovery. Start by doing frequent repetitions of a few simple exercises before gradually increasing the amount you do.
In some cases, the help of a professional, such as a physiotherapist. They can design a suitable recovery programme and advise you about the exercises you should do and the number of repetitions.
Chathuranga Pallegama
References
https://fluxsportstherapy.co.uk/blog/price-principles/
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