There’s no talking about New Zealand lifestyle without mentioning sports. But as Kiwis know too well, sports practice comes with some amount of pain.
Good pain means that you’re working your muscles right, building up the power you need to perform at your peak. Bad pain means that an injury has occurred or is about to.
A wise sportsperson learns to recognise the signs early and act on it appropriately. That may mean slow down, use less weights or just stop. Unfortunately, not all injuries come with warning signals. In fact, a lot of them just happen: a fall, a twist, plain bad luck... You name it!
What then? As many physiotherapy patients have found out (the hard way), the last thing you want to do is ignore the pain. No, really, it will not go away on its own.
In fact, the longer you wait to act, the more serious it may become. Seeing a physiotherapist will only take 20 minutes of your time and may save you months of rehabilitation - not to mention surgery. They will perform a thorough assessment, diagnose and design an appropriate treatment plan. In looking for the cause of injury, a good physio will even give you some useful tips to avoid re-injury in the future. A good physiotherapy practice will give you an appointment within 48 hours (Focus Health guarantees to see you within 24).
What do you do in the mean- time? Get yourself on RICE: a simple recipe that you have unknowingly seen served many times when watching a game on TV.
RICE stands for:
Rest: Stop activity (not slow down) and give the injured part a break, using a sling or crutches if necessary.
Ice: An ice pack or crushed ice in a damp towel should be applied for 15-20 minutes every 1-2 hours for the first 24 hours.
Compression: Bandage firmly (not tight) starting just below and finishing just above the injured area.
Elevation: This is done so that gravity can assist reducing the swelling.Gentle, pain-free movement is also a good idea, if at all possible.
By taking these simple steps until you are able to see a Physiotherapist, you may reduce your recovery time a great deal which means that you’ll be able to go back to your sport quicker and
fully recovered.