It can happen, in the span of a life dedicated to Sport, Fitness and physical exercise in a broad sense, to incur some minor injury. Don't always make a drama out of it, it's part of the game! After all, training is nothing more than a way to stress (in a positive way, he means) one's body, stimulating it and directing it towards improvement. And there is no way to stimulate your body except by making it do something more in every workout than what it is now used to doing.
1. rubor - redness;
2. tumor - swelling;
3. heat - heat;
4. pain - ache;
5. functio laesa - inhibition of the functionality of the affected area, particularly in the case of a joint.
And it is at this point, just when the first signs arise, that we need to intervene with the RICE.
What is this RICE?
It is a very simple intervention protocol, suggested by Sports and Orthopedic Medicine, to stem the inflammatory reaction in the event of an injury and prevent it from taking over. R.I.C.E. is an English acronym.
- REST (rest) - the part in question must be immediately put to complete rest, be it the ankle, the elbow or the calf. After all, pain is nothing more than the strategy that our body adopts to prevent us from doing further damage by moving.
- ICE (ice) - immediate application of ice for periods of 20-30 minutes every hour, for the next 4 hours after the injury. The ice must be applied evenly and cover a large area surrounding the inflamed area.
- COMPRESSION (compression) - that is, pressure of the ice pack on the inflamed part and bandage in the intervals between one pack and the other. The compression, in one way or another, must however persist for at least 24-48 hours following the injury.
- ELEVATION (elevation) - it is recommended to keep the inflamed part above the level of the heart, so as to favor venous return and avoid further accumulations of blood.
In most cases the application of RICE is decisive. However, if within 48 hours the inflammation and pain do not seem to regress ... then it is really the case to consult the doctor.
The times of complete recovery are however very variable and dependent on the extent of the injury. It can take a few days in the case of a simple contracture or even a few weeks in the case of strains and sprains. It is usually enough to listen to your body and use some common sense to know when it's time to start training normally again.
Once you have recovered completely, and ascertained that it was nothing serious, there is no reason not to resume your usual physical exercise (perhaps with some extra care). The biggest mistake is to limit yourself too much in the future workouts or even worse stop training ... out of fear. The human body is meant to be used, not stored! A child who does not run and does not play is a child who does not risk peeling his knees. But that doesn't seem like a good reason to stop him from running and playing!
