How Does Elevation And Compression Help With Recovery?

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When you sustain an injury, you want to feel better as quickly as possible. You also want the healing process to complete. Some easy tips can help your recovery from sports injuries.

What Does Elevation Accomplish?

When you elevate the injured area, it can prevent further swelling and reduce the swelling that has occurred.

For the best results, keep the injured part above your heart level. As an example, for an injured ankle you can lie flat and prop your foot on pillows.

What Does Compression Accomplish?

Compression will also reduce and limit swelling. When swelling is controlled, healing and recovery will be faster. Compression may also relieve the pain.

An ACE bandage can be wrapped around the injured area to provide compression. The bandage should not be wrapped so tightly that it causes throbbing.

R.I.C.E. For Muscle Recovery

R.I.C.E. stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Compression and elevation will help you recover from injuries, but you should not neglect rest and ice if you want faster, easier recovery.

Rest will prevent further injury while protecting the injured part. Regardless of the location of your injury, do not put weight on it. Ask for help if you need to move.

Ice can reduce further swelling and relieve pain. You can use crushed ice or cold packs. Apply the pack to the injured area for less than 20 minutes. If your skin is exposed to the ice pack longer, or exposed directly to ice, skin damage may occur. In some instances, it can cause frostbite.

Further Treatment For Sports Injuries

Rest, ice, compression, and elevation should work for most muscle injuries. The swelling and pain should noticeably decrease within 48 hours. If it does not, visit an emergency room or your personal physician.

If the pain is unbearable, or you notice unusual bleeding, or if you appear to have a broken bone, do not wait to see what happens. Obtain medical help immediately.

For injuries that can be treated at home, you can take additional steps. Gently massaging the affected area may improve healing and prevent unnecessary scar tissue. Moist heat will improve healing, too.

After the swelling has disappeared, you need to regain the range of motion in the injured area. Gentle stretching will accomplish this. Do not start strengthening exercises until you have completely healed from your injury.

The recovery process heals your damaged tissues. You should not return to your activity until the muscle is completely healed.
Elevation and compression are two important parts of recovery from sports injuries. The other tips are equally important. When you allow yourself ample time to heal, you can experience a full recovery. You may not need medical attention, and you can eventually return to your sport.

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