FOR ACUTE INJURIES: What is RICE Therapy?
REST – ICE (cold) – COMPRESSION – ELEVATION
This 4-letter acronym is an easy way to remember the most important steps in treating an acute injury like a sprain, strain, muscle pull, or tear. Acting quickly and applying cold therapy within the first 24-48 hours can prevent complications and help to reduce overall swelling and inflammation. Most importantly, following these four guidelines will help you feel better and recover faster. Let’s face it, that is the most important thing of all!
1) Rest
The “R” in RICE therapy stands for Rest – take a break from normal activities. This is the easiest of the 4 first aid measures but is often the hardest to implement. The mantra “No pain, no gain,” doesn’t apply to an ACUTE injury. Unlike pushing through an extra rep or kicking out another lap, working through the pain of an injury may cause more damage and may lengthen the overall time to recover.
2) Ice
Apply a cold pack as soon as possible after the injury. Cold therapy has two benefits: it reduces swelling and relieves pain. Apply cold therapy, to the injured area for 20 minutes at a time. Remove the cold pack for at least 30 minutes to allow the skin to rewarm..
Continue using cold /ice until the swelling has gone down, which typically takes a few days.
Do not apply ice to the affected area for more than 15 minutes at a time!! The injury won’t heal any faster, and you can cause damage to the surrounding tissue!
3) Compression
The “C” in RICE therapy stands for compression. Use compression when elevating a sprain or strain during early treatment. To apply compression, wrap a bandage , a towel, firmly around, or you can use an elastic brace. If your fingers or toes begin to tingle or throb, or if it just feels too tight, release and re-wrap!
4) Elevation
Keep the affected area higher than your heart if possible. This is another trick to help reduce swelling and inflammation. Try placing a couple of pillows under the injured arm or leg while you are resting.
Consult your physio asap – the modalities we use in the acute stage – , reduce swellings, support the circulation, reduce pain and stimulates the healing process .
LIZET SMITH EN LIZA VERHOEF FISIOTERAPIE/PHYSIOTHERAPY
C/O JOUBERT AND KRUGER AVE
VEREENIGING