When speaking to sporting teams about how to best manage new injuries, a line we often use is “At the very least don’t make it worse”. Whether it is a minor niggle or a major injury, how you manage a new injury in the first 2-3 days can make a significant difference to recovery.
This advice could apply whether you’ve sprained your ankle in the backyard cricket game, jammed your finger in the BBQ lid or strained your hamstring chasing the kids.
For most new injuries we educate patients on the CERI principles, Compression, Elevation, Rest, Ice and then referral on to your physio or sports doc for assessment (previously RICER). But even if you are unable to go to those measures, just by NOT DOING a few basic things you can minimise the severity of your injury.
Many new injuries involve a degree of tissue stress, for example overstretching of a muscle, tendon or ligament, joint surface compression or skin and connective tissue trauma. If the injury is significant enough, the body responds to the tissue trauma and sets into action it’s own emergency services team (the inflammatory process, including swelling) that to starts the clean up process of the injured cells and then lays down new and healthy scar tissue (yes it’s normal and a good thing!).
What can be detrimental and impede/delay recovery are things that can either add to the tissue trauma, bleeding or swelling, or increase the degree of inflammation over and above the normal healthy level. Avoiding those things will mean that you don’t make your injury worse than it needs to be.
If you’re not sure exactly what you’ve done, organise to have an assessment with your physiotherapist to work out how to successfully rehabilitate your injury and in the meantime AVOID the following for the first few days.
AVOID “H.A.R.M.S.”
Heat – Using heat may Increase blood flow, inflammation and bruising
Alcohol – When in your system, can increase the degree of swelling and inflammation
Running – This relates to any vigorous exercise that may increase the stress on the tissues and compromise the early phase of tissue healing
Massage – Is generally avoided in the early stages of injury while the healing process commences
Stretching – although it may feel like you want to “loosen it up”, if there has been disruption of tissue fibres further stretching may impede the healing process
So basically if you’ve done something new but not sure what – at the very least, try to avoid pushing, poking, prodding, stretching and testing it for the first couple of days – you might be pleasantly surprised how well it settles down!
Following this basic advice can make a real difference BUT remember, timing is everything, as heat treatment, massage, stretching and running (maybe not alcohol??) may all be very important to use in your recovery after the acute phase has passed. Your physio can guide you on exactly when these aspects are suitable to begin.