What to do with an Injury in the first 48hrs

Most people have heard of the principals of R.I.C.E when dealing with an acute injury...

• Rest
• Ice 
• Compression 
• Elevation

... However I have many people who'll come into the clinic after an acute injury and 9 times out of 10 I will have a conversation that will go along the lines of:

Me "Did you manage to ice the injury at all?"
Patient "No, I thought I'd leave it to see if it would settle down".
Me "Have you been able to put some light compression over the injury, since it happen?".
Patient "No, I didn't think of that".
Me "I take it you've been able to rest it and get it elevated in the evening then?".
Patient "Well I did a little bit on the first evening but...." 

And so the conversation goes on....

Avoid being the person in the scenario above - make sure you find time to look after you injury properly!

***

The point of this blog post is to stress that all the elements of the R.I.C.E protocol are simple to follow and combined they do make huge difference in improving the recovery rate of an injury.

If you see a premiership footballer or rugby player go over on their ankle their Physio / Sports Therapist / Club Doctor will follow all four of the R.I.C.E principals in the initial stages - so make sure you do the same for yourself.

Rest - For a lower limb (foot, ankle, knee, hip) injury try avoid walking or weight-bearing through the joint. Use crutches if you can get hold of them. In addition, do all that's possible to limit actions that are painful or that increase swelling. Having said that do not avoid movement of the injured joint or tissue 100%. Gentle PAIN FREE movements should be encouraged as early as possible, even if these movements are only very small at first.

Ice - This past blog post explains the use of ice in more detail - Click the link here for more info.

Compression - From my experience this is the most over looked principal of R.I.C.E - however it is arguably the most important aspect in managing the swelling brought about by your injury. Compressing the area will prevent the swelling pooling too heavily at the injury site. Tubigrip (available at Boots etc) or a bandage will work perfectly for getting some light compression over the injury site in most cases. Make sure you check the capillary refill (see video) in your fingers or toes to help make sure you haven't over tighten the compression.  

Elevation - as with compression, the aim of elevation is to prevent (or reduce) the amount of inflammation pooling at the injury site. By elevating the injury gravity can assist in draining the area. Make use of all the chances you have to get the injured area elevated.

So there is a basic outline of R.I.C.E and why it's important to follow. Just make sure you do it!