Lifestyle changes
Immersing the injured area in ice water for a short time can also bring relief. While cooling is key, be aware that applying ice for too long (more than 10 minutes) can actually increase damage to your injury by lowering your skin temperature too far: at around 15 degrees C, the blood vessels to start to widen rather than constrict. If the skin itself turns red, hot, painful or itchy, you'll know you've iced too long. Remove the ice and your skin should return to normal in four to eight minutes.
MAKE THIS INJURY YOUR LAST
Here are a few exercise pointers that can help lower your risk for future strains and sprains:
Not until the joint has recovered its full range of motion. At that point you'll have strength in all the surrounding muscles, your balance will be good and you shouldn't experience pain or swelling when you do play. Test your sport readiness with 'the hop barometer': if you can't hop on the injured ankle three or four times without pain, you're not ready to resume.
Medications
For moderate pain from a strain or sprain, try paracetamol (Panamax, Panadol), which is relatively gentle on the stomach. Because paracetamol won't provide any relief for inflammation, howerver, it's not a good choice if you have swelling. For swelling (as well as pain) try a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), such as ibuprofen (Nurofen), naproxen (Naprogesic) or aspirin. Keep in mind that these drugs don't promote healing and shouldn't be taken long term without checking with your doctor.
Sometimes nonprescription medications aren't enough. For a debilitating back strain, for example as your doctor about a strong prescription pain medication, such as tramadol (Trimal), parace-tamol/codeine combinations (Panadeine Forte) or paracetamol)/codeine/relaxant (Mersyndol Forte, Florinal). Most prescription painkillers and muscle relaxants should be used for only a few weeks at most. If your injury is severe, your doctor may give you a corticosteroid injection in the injured joint or the surrounding tissue to reduce pain and inflammation. Today such injections aren't widely used for mild strains and sprains because they can delay healing and might tempt you to use the injured joint before it's fully healed, making the situation worse.
Procedures
If you have a severe strain or sprain, your family doctor or orthopaedic specialist might treat it as if it were a fracture by applying a plastic or plaster cast for several weeks to immobilise the area and speed healing. Surgery is rarely needed for most strains and sprains but occasionally you'll find that a ruptured ligament or a severe fracture (often mistaken for a sprain) does require an operation to repair it.
About tendonitis
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Inflammation of a tendon, one of the fibrous cords that join muscle to bone, is called tendonitis. The injury is due to over.-use from prolonged, repititive movements, which cause the tendon to become irriated and swollen. Common trouble spots are the elbows (tennis or goller's elbow), shoulders, wrists, ankles (specifically the Achilles tendon at the back of the ankle) and fingers (called trigger finger).
Treatments for tendonitis is similar to that for strains and sprains: rest, ice, compression and elevation, along with NSAIDs, followed by rehabilitation exercises (see below). With tendonitis, it's especially important to resume activity gradually, incorporating gentle heat and stretching before hand and applying ice packs afterwards. Most cases last no more than two weeks but repeated use of the injured tendon, may lead to chronic tendonitis, characterised by scarring of the involved tissues and limited flexibility. Once the pain is gone, lift weights (very light ones at first) to strengthen the muscles around the tendon; the stronger the muscles, the less stress on the tendon. If inflammation persists, you might need a corticosteroid injection or even surgery if the tendon is actually torn.
PROMISING DEVELOPMENTS
Immersing the injured area in ice water for a short time can also bring relief. While cooling is key, be aware that applying ice for too long (more than 10 minutes) can actually increase damage to your injury by lowering your skin temperature too far: at around 15 degrees C, the blood vessels to start to widen rather than constrict. If the skin itself turns red, hot, painful or itchy, you'll know you've iced too long. Remove the ice and your skin should return to normal in four to eight minutes.
- Compression. To protect the injured area and minimise swelling, ask your doctor about using an elastic wrap, air cast, splint or specially designed boot. Take care that the compression isn't too tight or it won't work.
- Elevate. Raise the injured area above heart level as often as possible. This allows gravity to draw blood and other fluids that can cause swelling away from the injury. It may take a couple of days before you see results, however if you've sprained your ankle, prop your foot way up--toes above your nose.
MAKE THIS INJURY YOUR LAST
Here are a few exercise pointers that can help lower your risk for future strains and sprains:
- Keep your weight down.
- Always warm up before exercising by riding a stationary bike or jogging in place for 5-10 minutes; warm muscles are less likely to tear. Also do a few warm-up stretches , holding each one for between 10 and 30 seconds.
- Don't play sport when you're overtired or in plain.
- Be sure to wear properly fitted running shoes. Run on even surfaces.
- Apply ice after exercise to minimise tissue irritation.
- Avoid reinjury by using a support, such as a brace or elastic bandage, on the weakend joint. The latest findings show that ankle bracing works better than the currently popular practice of taping the ankle.
Not until the joint has recovered its full range of motion. At that point you'll have strength in all the surrounding muscles, your balance will be good and you shouldn't experience pain or swelling when you do play. Test your sport readiness with 'the hop barometer': if you can't hop on the injured ankle three or four times without pain, you're not ready to resume.
Medications
For moderate pain from a strain or sprain, try paracetamol (Panamax, Panadol), which is relatively gentle on the stomach. Because paracetamol won't provide any relief for inflammation, howerver, it's not a good choice if you have swelling. For swelling (as well as pain) try a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), such as ibuprofen (Nurofen), naproxen (Naprogesic) or aspirin. Keep in mind that these drugs don't promote healing and shouldn't be taken long term without checking with your doctor.
Sometimes nonprescription medications aren't enough. For a debilitating back strain, for example as your doctor about a strong prescription pain medication, such as tramadol (Trimal), parace-tamol/codeine combinations (Panadeine Forte) or paracetamol)/codeine/relaxant (Mersyndol Forte, Florinal). Most prescription painkillers and muscle relaxants should be used for only a few weeks at most. If your injury is severe, your doctor may give you a corticosteroid injection in the injured joint or the surrounding tissue to reduce pain and inflammation. Today such injections aren't widely used for mild strains and sprains because they can delay healing and might tempt you to use the injured joint before it's fully healed, making the situation worse.
Procedures
If you have a severe strain or sprain, your family doctor or orthopaedic specialist might treat it as if it were a fracture by applying a plastic or plaster cast for several weeks to immobilise the area and speed healing. Surgery is rarely needed for most strains and sprains but occasionally you'll find that a ruptured ligament or a severe fracture (often mistaken for a sprain) does require an operation to repair it.
About tendonitis
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inflammation of a tendon, one of the fibrous cords that join muscle to bone, is called tendonitis. The injury is due to over.-use from prolonged, repititive movements, which cause the tendon to become irriated and swollen. Common trouble spots are the elbows (tennis or goller's elbow), shoulders, wrists, ankles (specifically the Achilles tendon at the back of the ankle) and fingers (called trigger finger).
Treatments for tendonitis is similar to that for strains and sprains: rest, ice, compression and elevation, along with NSAIDs, followed by rehabilitation exercises (see below). With tendonitis, it's especially important to resume activity gradually, incorporating gentle heat and stretching before hand and applying ice packs afterwards. Most cases last no more than two weeks but repeated use of the injured tendon, may lead to chronic tendonitis, characterised by scarring of the involved tissues and limited flexibility. Once the pain is gone, lift weights (very light ones at first) to strengthen the muscles around the tendon; the stronger the muscles, the less stress on the tendon. If inflammation persists, you might need a corticosteroid injection or even surgery if the tendon is actually torn.
PROMISING DEVELOPMENTS
- Some doctors specialising in soft tissue injuries are now experimenting with prolotherapy, also known as nonsurgical ligament reconstruction. A sugar water (dextrose) solution is injected into the area where an injured ligament or tendon attaches to the bone. This causes a localised inflammation, which in turn stimulates the flow of tissue-repairing blood and nutrients to the injury site. Although the responses to prolotherapy vary widely, many people see results in four to six treatments.
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