There is a difference between a strain and a sprain. A ligament and soft tissue injury around a joint is a sprain. The bands of fibers that connect two or more bones at a joint are ligament. When you jam, twist, or overextend a joint, the ligaments become stretched or torn. There may be some internal bleeding when this happens that shows up on the skin as a discoloration that can last of several days to a week or more. Sprains are very painful and take a very long time to heal.

Sprains And Strains

A strain, on the other hand, is where a muscle becomes injured from over use and over stretching. Another name of a strain is a muscle pull or a pulled muscle. This is quite literally correct, as the muscle is pulled further than it is meant to stretch causing a strain on it. When the muscle is strained, it may tear. If it tears, it bleeds and contracts. Also painful, it heals slightly quicker as muscle heals faster than ligament.

Different Injuries-Same Treatment

For sprains and strains, the basic treatment is pretty much the same. As taught in HIPAA Compliance Training, the treatment for both is a two part process called RICE and MSA. RICE means Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elevate and is the healing process immediately following the injury. MSA means Movement, Strength, and Alternate Activities and begins as soon as the healing process allows.

The First Step

Immediately following an injury like a sprain or a strain, you can begin RICE.

– Rest: Putting no weight on the joint or muscle that has sustained the injury, the idea is to immobilize the site so that it can begin to heal on its own. This might mean putting a wing in a sling or using crutches and a cane for a while.

– Ice: There is an alternating system for icing an injury that promotes healing and reduces swelling. For the first two hours, you ice the area for 15 minutes every hour. Then you do nothing but rest for two hours followed by 15 minutes of ice every hour for two hours and so forth for the first 48 hours or until the swelling is completely gone. Do not forget that you will need cloth like a rag or towel between bare skin and ice.

– Compress: You want to wrap the injury so that it is compressed snugly. An elastic bandage is perfect for this because as swelling goes down, the elastic bandage can be tightened.

– Elevate: Whenever possible, you want the injured area to be above the heart. Healing is much faster if you elevate your injury on pillows when lying down or icing your injury.

The Next Step

Once swelling is gone, you may begin the MSA part of the healing process.
– Movement: Start gently to begin to move the affected joint. The goal is to recapture the full range of motion.

– Strength: Again, you need to start very slowly and only after the swelling is gone and full range of motion achieved. You want to increase your strength gradually. If you flex and stretch scar tissue gently, it will be more flexible and allow full range of motion whereas scar tissue that is not stretched and flexible will be too stiff to allow full range of motion if you wait.

– Alternate Activities: Through sports and other activities, you want to alternate your regular exercises with zero pain and full use in mind. You need to be careful not to fall into the trap of not using the wounded limb as you used it before the injury.

Take It Slow

Go slowly and you will soon be back to 100% and as good as new. The trick is to stop of you feel pain and go back to RICE until you can resume without pain or swelling.

Author Bio: For more information please visit our CPR Recertification website.

Category: Advice
Keywords: exercises,swelling,Strains,RICE AND MSA Therapy ,CPR Recertification