Preventing injuries is possible when you are prepared for the activity, both physically and mentally. Injuries can be prevented by proper warm-up, proper mechanics and techniques, proper training and conditioning, and knowledge of the activity. Throughout the next few weeks I am going to explore a few of the most common injuries and how to prevent and recuperate from them.
Today, however, I am going to talk about one of the main methods to treat an acute injury (strain or pull). This method is known as the R.I.C.E method, which stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.
Rest will prevent further injury and allow the healing process to take action.
Icing the injury will stop the swelling and limits the bleeding in the injured area by constricting injured blood vessels. I recommend icing the injury for 20 minutes once every three hours or so. Remember to wrap the ice, direct contact is harmful to the body.
Compression supports the injured joint and helps control the swelling as well.
Elevation reduces blood flow to injured area by using gravity, which in turn reduces swelling.
Please feel free to leave a comment or email if you have any questions. Again, more injury prevent is yet to come.
Good info. That is an old acronym that has stood the test of time.