The PRICE We Pay for Playing Sports

Injuries can occur during sports even if we take all the preventative steps to shield ourselves from them. There are some steps we can take to minimize damage to an injury by following 5 steps after the impact and throughout rehabilitation – this procedure is an acronym: PRICE or RICE. Please note, this process works for relatively small tears and sprains - if you have sustained a serious injury you will need to go to the accident and emergency.

Protection

The P in Price stands for protection. After suffering a strain or localized damage during a sporting bout make sure you protect the area afterwards. Ensure no more harm comes to it and begin your recovery process immediately.

Protection usually becomes more relevant when the pain has ceased to be noticeable, but the area is still sensitive to damage. It is easy to forget about and therefore easily damaged again. Make sure to protect sensitive areas.

You can purchase area specific padding to protect damaged areas – for example – if you cycle to work and are recovering from serious knee damage – you should make sure you have a knee pad.

Rest

The R in Price stands for Rest. After sustaining damage to a ligament or joint you will need to stop aggravating the area - it is important to avoid activities that cause pain. Ideally, lie down in a comfortable position to minimize bleeding, swelling and further damage. Rest may also include the use of crutches, a protective brace, or tape/sling.

You should look to rest the damaged area as soon as possible after damage has occurred.

Ice

The I in Price stands for Ice. You should ice the injured area for 10-20 minutes every 2 hours. Use an ice pack or a makeshift “crushed-ice-in-tea-towel” to help reduce inflammation of the damaged area. Do not ice an area for extremely long lengths of time as inappropriate icing can sometimes make an injury worse rather than better.

The sooner after the impact you begin icing the better (and faster) your recovery will be.

Compression

The C in PRICE stands for Compression. After the incident you can use compression bandages to minimize swelling. If on applying compression you experience a change of colour, pins and needles, or any colour change in your extremities then the bandage is too tight, and you or the physio will need to loosen it. Ensure you remove the band before you go to sleep.

Elevation

The C in PRICE stands for Elevation. Immediately after the area has been iced and compressed you should raise the injured area above your heart – reducing blood flow to the damaged area – which minimizes bleeding and swelling. Ideally, you should elevate the limb whilst undergoing the rest of the procedure – but this can be tricky and prove to be more trouble than it’s worth.

You can continue to elevate the area in your day-to-day life to aid the limb in recovering.

PRICE is a reactionary therapy which seeks to minimize damage after impact or damage on small tears and sprains. As aforementioned, it is not a method to deal with serious damage such as a broken arm.

If you have suffered from a sports-related injury or would like to discuss a bespoke plan, please contact us at Mount Sinai Department of Rehabilitative Medicine. Contact our switchboard on: (212) 241-6321

How to Recover from a Serious Injury

Everyone on a Sunday afternoon from the cheering dads on the sideline to the star quarterback is aware of the constantly looming threat of muscle tears and sprains. They happen, and there is no fail-safe way of ensuring you never receive one. Even the iced bathed and well-oil superstars with the best coaching and physiotherapy in the world cannot avoid the wrath of torn muscles – and it’s nothing to be ashamed of – even Achilles was eventually thwarted by a tear in his ankle. Maybe he should have subscribed to our blog.

Last week, we outlined PRICE – Protect, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate - which is the immediate response you or a physio should have a sprain or tear. The sooner after the injury you attend to the area the better effect it will have. Your physio will be able to advise you on the level of the tear (graded from 1-3) and help draft a bespoke plan as to how you should implement the routine.

In most cases, the subsequent procedure should see you through most of the recovery. For more serious damage, consulting a physiotherapist on a regular basis for sports massages may be necessary. During your first visit, your physiotherapist will likely ask you about the activity that led to this damage and conduct a thorough physical examination to determine how severe the tear is. This is especially important if there was no on-site physio after the initial damage. Your comprehensive plan could include:

·        Ice or heat to reduce swelling

·        Electrotherapeutic modalities which use sound waves to heat up and repair deeper tissue

·        Soft tissue mobilization to relieve muscle spasms or tight muscles

Your physio will include self-stretching routines to mobilize muscles and reduce long-term damage. Stretching the damaged area will allow it to regain flexibility as weakness tends to occur when you do not move or contract a limb for a long period of time. It can also affect your ability to move a joint at full range. Stretching can help loosen tight muscles and increase the range of motion after sustaining a sprain or tear. These can either be done with your physiotherapist or at the gym/home. Stretch programmes work best alongside sports massages – however, if you do not have access to these – then foam rollers (which you can find by typing “buy foam roller” into Google) are fantastic at self-massaging.

The final step to recovery is strength training. This doesn’t mean an Arnold Schwarzenegger Boot Camp but a progressive exercise routine that will gradually build up the damaged area. After a muscle is damaged but before it is fully recovered the area will still be significantly weaker than it was before. The job now is to build up to your “normal” amount – and exercises should be given according to your level of fitness and specific muscles affected. Strengthening your muscles will help you get back to your previous activities and can help prevent future injuries.

If you have suffered from a tear or strain, please contact us at Mount Sinai Department of Rehabilitative Medicine for a bespoke rehab plan. Contact our switchboard at (212) 241-6321