Sprains
Ligaments are the part of the body that is joined to the bones. They are strong and posses some elasticity. Their main purpose is to hold the joints so that joints are strong enough. Sometimes one might over stretch so that ligaments are badly affected. This type of an injury is called a sprain. Due to sprains, ligaments might tear complete or partially.
A sprain might occur to any ligament of your body, but the most common ones are the ones to the knees and ankles. The ligaments which have been sprained are very painful and have some swelling. These can be treated easily without much problem.
The following precautions help you to treat it with ease:
1. Crutches and splints have to be used for walking and moving. This just eliminates the risk of further injury to the hands and legs.
2. Don’t strain the hand or the leg that got sprained. This doesn’t mean complete bed rest too, but means that a little work and exercise can be done so that the muscles keep on moving. This can be like cycling using two hands and a leg that did not sustain any injury. One can probably rest the injured leg on some other part of the bike. This way both the hands and the uninjured leg get exercised and even the injured leg doesn’t strain much.
3. Just treat the part sprained with ice. This could be done by using a cold pack or may be a slush bath and at times a compression sleeve filled with chilled water, so that the wound doesn’t swell much after an injury. Icing has to be done with no delay after the injury. Over use of ice is also not very advisable, as it mostly damages the tissues.
4. Apply some pressure on the affected area using an elastic wrap or a bandage. For better results, use the compressive wraps or sleeves that are made up of elastic or neoprene.
5. Swelling should be controlled and it can be done by raising the part which has been injured. After a couple of days, you can work with the injured part. The improvement will be gradual and you will feel recovered. There are many drugs like (Advil, Motrin, others) and acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) which will relieve a lot in case of pain and also help the healing process to speed up to a certain extent.
The medical assistance becomes necessary if:
- You feel uncomfortable to balance your body on the joint, feel difficult in using the joint or there is a pop sound the moment your joint gets hurt. This could imply that the muscle is torn fully. You need to consult the doctor if necessary and then use a cold pack.
- There are certain signs of infection like a temperature greater than 100F and the sprained area becoming red and hot.
- The pain is extreme and make sure that it is treated early as any delay might result in the joint becoming very weak and increased pain.
- There is no improvement in the condition for many days.