If you are fairly active and often participate in sports, it’s pretty likely that at some point in your life you will experience a sports-related injury. You don’t necessarily need to be a star athlete to become injured, as accidents happen all the time, from even the smallest amount of exercise. An injury can occur due to landing on an ankle wrong, from repetitive stress, or from something more serious like a pulled muscle or broken bone.
Of course, the treatment for the injury depends on the location and the severity of it. Sometimes all it needs is some rest, sometimes a quick fix will do, and other times a trip to the doctor is necessary. The most common types of sports injuries are variations of pulled muscles, which happens when a muscle is suddenly stretched too far, or sprains, which are joint or ligament injuries where no weight can be placed on the affected area. These types of injuries are usually quite common and are considered minor injuries, so with some basic rehabilitation, it should be feeling better in no time.
PRICE Therapy
The PRICE therapy method can be done at home for two or three days immediately following the injury. It’s an acronym that stands for protection, rest, ice, compression, and elevation.
The first thing you should do is protect the area from further injury. If you have a wrap, brace, or an ankle or knee support of some kind, use it until the area stops hurting so much. Then, the next logical step is to let that area of your body rest. Avoid exercise and try to reduce the amount of movement in that area for the time being. If you can’t put weight on a foot, ankle, or knee injury, crutches may come in handy. If it’s a shoulder or elbow injury, a sling is a good idea. Wrap an ice pack in a towel (so it doesn’t burn your skin) and apply it every two or three hours for roughly 20 minutes to reduce swelling. Another way to reduce swelling is to compress the area with elastic compression bandages, which is recommended for minor injuries. You can also reduce swelling by elevating the injury higher than the level of your heart whenever possible.
Stem Cell Therapy
More serious injuries call for more drastic treatments, but for some, longtime use of pain medication or surgery is not an ideal solution. Stem cell therapy is a quick and efficient method of recovery after a serious injury. It regenerates new tissue to help the body’s natural healing process, and in the meantime, helps reduce the pain and inflammation that comes with the injury.
Physiotherapy
For those recovering from a long-term injury, physiotherapy is highly beneficial. Massage, manipulation, and specific exercises are some of the treatments used in physio that can help you improve your range of motion, strengthen or re-strengthen the muscles surrounding the injured area, and regain normal function. Working with a physiotherapist can also help you avoid a recurring injury, as the physiotherapist can develop a personalized exercise program to strengthen the affected area so it doesn’t happen again.
