Treatment of sports injuries

Treatment of sports injuries

Physical activity in the form of training and sports sometimes leads to injuries. Correct treatment reduces the pain, discomfort and the length of the training break. Most sports injuries occur in team sports with body contact (handball, football and ice hockey). Sports injuries can usually be divided into acute injuries and chronic/strain injuries.

Acute injuries

An acute injury means that a single load is greater than what the tissue (skin, muscles, tendons, skeleton, ligaments) can withstand, and the tissue is damaged. Shocks, blows, twists and strain injuries are typical acute injuries.

The injury can also be a wound injury in the form of abrasions, puncture wounds and cuts or abrasions.

Treatment of acute injuries

Acute sports injuries must be assessed and treated by a doctor if they cause severe pain. If you sustain an acute sports injury, you should stop training immediately and get first aid as soon as possible. In most acute sports injuries, the RICEM principle will help to reduce the pain and inflammation at the site of the injury:

• R: Rest. Let the body and the injured area get immediate rest.

• In: Ice. Cool the injured area with an ice pack, ice spray, ice cubes, snow or cold packs. The cooling down should last 20 minutes and be repeated 2 - 4 times in the first 24 hours.

• C: Compress. The most important measure. The swelling and bleeding will continue until it meets resistance. By applying a compress, you limit both the swelling and the inflammation. Apply a tight compress for approx. 15 minutes. Then release the compression but keep it on.

• E: Elevate. Elevate the injured area above heart level. This limits the bleeding.

• M: Medicate. By giving anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving medicines, the inflammation and pain are reduced. If the damage is local, anti-inflammatory medicines applied directly to the skin can be useful.

• For the first 2-3 days after the injury, the area should not be massaged or heat treated, as this can increase the damage.

At LenaPharm we have cooling products, compresses, bandages and a number of other products that are suitable for injuries.

Stress injuries

If you expose muscles or joints to the wrong load repeatedly over time, you can get a strain injury. The tissue is damaged because the threshold for what the tissue can tolerate is exceeded. Strain injuries lead to tissue damage and inflammation as acute injuries, but strain injuries do not lead to bleeding. The inflammation process can be lengthy.

Treatment of stress injuries

The inflammation that results from a stress injury can be treated with prescription or over-the-counter anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving medications.

Strain injuries can be caused, among other things, by one-sided training, incorrect posture, incorrect/bad equipment, lack of flexibility in the muscles and excess weight. Treatment of stress injuries therefore often consists of trying to remove the cause of the stress injury.

Sources: Own information material, Store Norske Leksikon