Acute Muscle Injury
Call Your Doctor!
First of all, as with any injury, consulting
a physician is very important. A slight injury could mask a
deeper condition. There are some steps though, that you can
take to decrease the pain and insure the fastest possible
recovery. Remembering the acronym R.I.C.E. will help you
with these first crucial steps. They stand for:
- R - REST
- I - ICE
- C - COMPRESSION
- E - ELEVATION
REST:
Your body's energy is like currency in a bank. You spend
it daily on movement, activities, play and hundreds of
physiological responses such as metabolism, respiration, and
even microscopic cellular division. When there is an injury
you need energy to help with the healing process. Some of
that energy currency is needed which is usually spent on
normal daily activities. Neglect rest, and you are not
optimizing your chances of healing quickly and effortlessly.
This doesn't mean staying in bed for a week, rather, taking
some time to relax for brief periods during the day. You
also want to rest the injured or affected area, immobilizing
it from activity as best you can for about 24 to 36 hours.
If the injury can be taped, such as around the ankle, knee,
hand or wrist, this is even better. Taping stabilizes the
joint and protects it from further injury when engaging in
normal activities. There are many excellent taping and
bandage products in your local pharmacy. The bandage should
fit firmly, but also provide adequate circulation.
ICE:
Putting ice on an injury does several important
things. First and foremost, it increases circulation,
bringing blood and oxygen, to the injury site. It decreases
heat, swelling and the production of excess fluids (edema).
It also helps to eliminate puffiness by improving cellular
metabolism. Inflammation has gotten a bad rap through the
years. In the initial stages of healing, inflammation is
crucial to the healing process. The chemical mediators of
inflammation are your friends. These are the heavy hitters
which rush to the area to wall it off, destroy toxins and
bring in carloads of collagen to repair damaged tissue (to
name a few). The problem is, these mediator chemicals want
to hang around for awhile, long after they've done their
job. Applying ice to an injury helps shut off the
inflammation process before it causes more problems, which
it does if left unchecked.
COMPRESSION:
The compression we are talking about here is when
there is bleeding from an open wound. Applying continuous,
even compression will stop the bleeding. There is also a
form of compression that you can use to stop a spasm, a
cramping muscle, or a continuous muscular pain that won't
diminish within a reasonable amount of time (72 hours). If
you read the section on massage in this site, it explains
how compression works to stop the pain/spasm cycle. However,
let's say that your massage/acupuncture appointment is five
days away and you are in pain now! This is what you can do
to help stop spasm and lower the pain. Take a tennis ball
and put it between yourself and a wall. I like to put the
tennis ball in a knee sock and throw it over my shoulder. I
have more control that way. Now press/roll the tennis ball
along either side of your spine (not on the spine!) until
you find the tender areas. On a scale of 1-10 (10 is very
painful) push against the ball with a pressure of about an
8. The pressure hurts, but it's a good hurt. This is the
important part. You have to hold the pressure for at lease a
minute and a half. For injuries on other parts of the body,
you'll need to get creative. As long as you are applying
direct pressure for a short period of time and do this
consistently several times over the next few days, you can
stop the spasm and greatly reduce the pain.
My specialty in massage therapy is the Paul
St. John NeuromuscularTherapy. It is based on the trigger
point therapy work pioneered by Dr. Janet Travell. Depending
on the condition treated, I also use a combination of other
techniques such as deep tissue massage, myofacial release
and cranio-sacral therapy.
ELEVATION
Elevation is used for increasing blood flow to the heart
and to the affected area. It is also used to encourage lymph
flow to the tissues.
Recommendations:
- Taking additional Vitamin C has been shown to help
decrease inflammation and helps strengthen and repair
connective tissue. Suggested dosage: 3,000 to 5,000 mg.
daily (can cause soft stools if taken in excess) .
- Proteolytic enzymes (3 tablets between meals).
Destroys free radicals that are released from an injury.
- The herb turmeric is a strong inhibitor of
inflammation. Make a paste with water and apply to the
injured area with gauze dressing.
- After 24 to 36 hours it is crucial to lower the
inflammation. If all else fails, take an
anti-inflammatory such as Ibuprofen or Aleve for a few
days. Follow the recommended dosage.
- After applying ice the first day, you can switch to a
vascular flush: apply ice and heat intermittently, the
application is ten minutes for each. Begin and end the
regimen with cold.
- Drink plenty of water to flush toxins and hydrate
tissues.
These are just a few guidelines to follow.
Remember to consult a physician. You may need x-rays and
other allopathic interventions. Scheduling an appointment
for acupuncture and massage therapy ensures correct injury
rehabilitation. Soon you will be up and about, ready to
resume your normal activities, pain free!
To learn more about our
acupuncture treatments,
contact us.
Seattle Health Therapies
Acupuncture
and
Energy Medicine Solutions
1411 Fourth Avenue, Suite #1322
Seattle, Washington, 98101
USA Tel: (206)
623-1630
|
