Ice & Acute Injury Information:
RICE or Rest Ice Compression Elevation
This is the long standing treatment for muscle or tendon strains and ligament sprains. Like all things there are many so called experts on even this simple principle but the main stream opinion (and my own experience) seems to be that in any acute injury (strains or sprains) the injury should first be Rested and Ice applied, but this is where it gets a little tricky. The ice should be applied for no more than 20 - 25 minutes every two hours and this is only during the first 48 hours of the injury.
The idea behind this is that in the body's normal healing process, the site of the injury is flooded with heat, blood etc. to facilitate healing, but inevitably too much fluid is sent to the area causing more pain and the more fluid in the area the longer the body will take to clear it after the healing process is completed.
The ice helps to cool the area slowing the flow of fluids, if the ice is left on for too long it will have the opposite effect and more blood may be sent to the area this is why it is important that the ice stay on for no longer than 20 - 25 minutes every 2 hours.
Along with this compression and elevation can be applied again to reduce the fluid and swelling in the immediate area (obviously it could be hard to elevate some parts of the body so use common sense).
Another important point is that some individuals are allergic to ice so this would become an impossibility but in any case ice should not be applied directly to the skin, instead the ice should be wrapped in a tea towel or similar. I find keeping a frozen jell pack in the freezer is very handy but in an emergency a pack of frozen peas or corn will do the job.
Along with this I find anti-inflammatory tablets started immediately will help. If these are not available aspirin is a natural anti-inflammatory and as long as you are not allergic to aspirin this is an excellent alternative. I must add here that I am not a Doctor of Medicine and you should see you local GP prior to taking any drugs or medication (what I have written here is what I have found from my own experiences).
I would like to add that I have worked for three years at the Australian Open and all professional tennis players know the importance of applying ice to injured or sore muscle. In the changing/Massage rooms at any time you will always see players with ice strapped to there body's. This is a normal procedure in all sports.
