Have you ever twisted an ankle, elbow, wrist, or knee to see it instantly swell up? These soft tissue injuries are pretty common, especially for those that participate in sports. So, what are you supposed to do after getting injured? RICE is an acronym designed to help you remember what steps to take when you receive a muscle, tendon, or ligament injury such as sprains, strains, and bruises.
R – Rest
I – Ice
C – Compression
E – Elevation
What Does it Mean?
R – Rest
Immediately after receiving an injury, the first step is to rest and protect the injury. If you twist your ankle while hiking, you will stop walking and sit down. If you tweak your knee playing tennis, you hit the bench for a break.
Essentially, resting the injury will allow you to assess the problem, prevent further damage, and allow your body to start the healing process. If it is determined that you are injured, you will continue with the RICE method and keep resting the injured area for at least 48 hours.
I – Ice
When placed on an injury, ice will reduce pain and swelling. It is recommended to ice the injured area for 20 minutes at a time, 4 to 8 times a day. When icing an injury, make sure to wrap the ice in a cloth; you never want ice to touch the skin directly. Be aware of how long you have iced your injury; going over 20 minutes can damage your skin. Additionally, make sure that your skin has a chance to reach room temperature again before reapplying with ice.
C – Compression
Compression can help an injury by reducing swelling. When using compression, you want to wrap the injured area in an elastic bandage. While you want to wrap the bandage tightly, do not wrap it so tightly that you cut off blood flow.
If you notice swelling in the uninjured area below the bandage, numbness, increased pain, a tingling sensation, or coolness, it likely means that you wrapped the area too tightly. Simply unwrap it and rewrap it more loosely.
E – Elevation
Elevating an injured part of the body is thought to decrease swelling and pain by limiting blood flow to the injury. To do this, you will want to elevate the injured area 6 to 10 inches above the heart. Try to keep the injured area elevated 2 to 3 hours a day.
When to Seek Medical Attention
Unfortunately, RICE isn’t a cure for your injury; it simply helps you take the first few steps to recovery. While some common acute injuries can get away with just using RICE, people are often overly hopeful that their injury will heal itself. If you notice the following symptoms, you need to seek medical attention:
- Pain and swelling don’t decrease after 48 hours
- Weight can’t be placed on the injured area
- The injured area is numb or misshapen
- The injury is reoccurring
- The injury is obviously more severe than a simple strain, sprain, or bruise
If the above concerns apply to you, please visit us at First Care Medical for treatment today.
