It is natural for professional athletes to get hurt at some point in their life. They might sprain their ankle, receive a blow to head, twist their knee, etc. while warming up, practicing, and playing. Avoiding sports injuries always might not be possible, but you can certainly get rid of them within a more or less short period.
Even though a wide range of treatment options are readily available, RICE therapy has managed to impress a major segment of the population. People who have injured their knees or ankles often implement the necessary steps for a week or two and alleviate pain, inflammation, and other adverse reactions.
RICE that stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation is basically a self-care technique that helps to reduce pain and quicken the healing. If you take an appointment with an experienced sports injury specialist, he or she can recommend you RICE treatment for treating the minor injuries. You can try this method for treating your achy ankle, knees or wrist. RICE method includes these steps. To know about this, you may have a close look at the below section now.
- First Step: Rest
When you have pain in your body, you should take it as a signal, revealing the fact that something is wrong in your body. When you are hurt, you should stop your activity and take rest as much as possible. You should not continue your training until you get recovery and get rid of the pain. As per the opinion of the doctors, you should avoid putting weight on the injured area until you are recovered.
- Second Step: Ice
A top-notch sports injury specialist has repeatedly emphasised on the significance of applying ice cubes, which reduce bruising and swelling to a great extent. You must wrap four to five ice cubes in a clean cloth, and then rub it on the affected area for about ten minutes. Remember extending the duration can increase chances of frostbites. Continue with this process until you see a noticeable improvement.
- Third Step: Compression
Compression means wrapping the injured area for a certain point of time in order to prevent swelling. You can use an elastic medical bandage for wrapping the area. Pay attention to tie the bandage not too tightly as this can interrupt the blood flow.
- Fourth Step: Elevation
A top-notch doctor of sports medicine has repeatedly emphasised on significance of keeping the sore body part elevated or in other words, above the level of your heart. This particular method has several distinct benefits. For instance, it can alleviate pain to a great extent along with internal bleeding, which might cause bruises.
For serious cases, a sports injury specialist might prescribe medications along with RICE therapy. If you do not recover or if the pain persists, you might have to go through a surgery.
So, this is all for now regarding the RICE method. If you have any further queries, you may consult an experienced physician who is specialized in treating sports injuries.
