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Injuries are a common part of our lives their are many ways to treat injuries and most people,don't follow a simple plan and end up getting worse, having spent the last 2 and a half years working with injuries there are simple plans to follow to get back safely and quickly to a non-injured state. Everyone talks about rice (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation), so lets break down. You need to see someone who specializes with injuries like a sports physio, sports therapist or athletic trainer, most GP's will send you to see one because they don't tend to have much knowledge in this area. So back to rice, which should be carried out for at least the first 48 hours.

Rest, by this we mean keep using the injured area but try to reduce the strain put on the are, i.e an ankle try and reduce weight bearing on it, so try not to put lots of weight on it.

Ice, this is looking to apply ice for about 10 minutes every hour, this will numb the area and help to simulate the blood flow.

Compression is aims to cut down the swelling and the elevation helps with this to. The compression also helps to support the injured area.

A professional will help give you exercises to strengthen the area,but also help to speed up the healing process and to help reduce swelling.

Adding heat can make an injury worse it allows the body to destroy injured tissue rather than ices benefits it by trying to repair injured cells. Heat can set the injury back and make it worse that it was in the beginning. Returning to training before the healing process has finished and full stability is been gained, the is an large increase in the chance the injury will become a regular recurrence.

Professionals would use things like ultrasound, and massage skills to help speed up recover from both inside and out side of the body. Taping methods may also be shown if it is only a minor injury, but this would be down to the prefessional to show and teach you. Frictions may also be used to help relieve tightness, that you may be suffering. If the injury is to an ankle or knee stability work would need to be done, this would also include being able to balance with eye closed.

Learn more about this author, Steve Lilley.
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