What to do if you’ve had a boo boo….

Written by Dr. Alison Gault B. App. Sci. (clinical sci) B. Osteo. Sci.  from Vale Osteopathy Clinic located in Ascot Vale and Pascoe Vale, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

These 1st aid tips for soft tissue injuries can be applied to any soft tissue injury such as hamstring strains, pulled calf muscles, shoulder strains, corked thighs and sprained ankles.

First 48 hours

The first action to take as soon as possible after the injury has occurred is RICER.  Rest, ice, compression, elevation, referral. This should continue for at least 42 hours after the injury as occurred.   RICER helps to reduce bleeding in the muscles, swelling and pain. It makes the recovery and healing process much faster.

Rest: Keep the body part as still as possible. This prevents further damage and slows down the bleeding in the muscles.

Ice: Ice is very important in reducing bleeding, swelling and pain. Never apply ice directly to skin as it can burn, wrapping the ice in a damp towel is the best way to conduct the cold without damaging your skin. Ice can mean anything from a bag of peas, a cold pack or ice cubes, whatever you have access to is fine just as long as it is very cold. Apply the ice for about 20 mins every 2 hours for first 48 hours.  Use discomfort as a guide as not everyone is able to put up with ice for a long period of time. If you are sensitive to the cold, it is better to do 3-5 mins every hour than none at all.

Compression: reduces swelling and bleeding and also provides support to the area reducing further injury.  Use a firm elastic compression bandage over the injured area as well as above and below.

Elevation: raise the injured area above the height of the heart as frequently as possible. This reduces blood flow to the injured area so decreases bleeding and swelling.

Referral: Visiting your GP or someone like myself to ensure correct diagnosis and treatment.

AVOID: heat of any type as this increases the bleeding and swelling. This includes heat lamps, heat creams, heat packs, saunas, spas and also alcohol. No massage over the area for at least 48 hours as this can start up the bleeding again.

After 48- 72 hours

• Get moving within pain free zone to prevent formation of inflexible scar tissue which can result in the area being weak and reinjure easily. Light exercise gets blood into the injured tissue and with it the nutrients needed to heal.
• Deep tissue massage to physically loosen up the soft tissue
• Avoid any activity that causes pain.
• Treatment to remove any of the biomechanical factors that may has caused the injury and any that will impair the healing.

Disclaimer: information provided on this post is of a general nature and should not be used in place of individual advice from either myself or another medical professional.  Vale Osteopathy Clinic and Alison Gault will not take responsibility for any injury resulting from following information in this post.

Vale Osteopathy Clinic provides osteopathic services to patients from a wide number of suburbs such as Ascot Vale, Pascoe Vale, Flemington, Melbourne, Australia, Footscray, Maribyrnong, Essendon, Essendon North, Moonee Ponds, Strathmore, Niddrie, Keilor, Coburg, Brunswick, Oak Park, Glenroy, North Melbourne, Avondale Heights, Airport West, Travancore.