When you stretch or tear the challenging band of tissue that connects the bones in your joints, you can have a sprain. It is an injury that is most common to happen in your ankles. Aside from the ankles, sprain could also happen in your knee, wrist, and thumb. If you are an athlete or a very active person, you are more prone to a sprained ankle.
To know if you have an injury, here are some of the signs of a sprain.
1. You may Feel Pain
The band of tissue that connects the joints broke, making it very painful for you. The joint is maybe forced to move out from its normal position. That is why every time you move; you can feel pain.
2. There is Swelling in the Area
You can see a swelling because the white blood cells are moving towards the injured area. When there are compressed nerves, it can also cause swelling.
3. You can see Bruises
During the sprain, some of your small blood vessels burst. That causes the blood to enter the surrounding tissue of the affected area.
4. Having a Hard Time to Move
Your joint is not in its normal position. Which makes it hard and painful for you to move around. If you have a sprained ankle, it will be hard for you to walk around. A sprained knee would give you a hard time standing up or sitting down.
5. Hearing a “Pop” Sound
While you are in motion, you started to hear a pop in your joint, and you are starting to feel pain. Also, it is most common to happen during sports or while walking on an uneven surface.
There are different ways to treat the injury. You can do some procedures in treating a sprain by yourself. Also, it depends on the seriousness of your injury. Some injuries need medical attention. Doctors recommend RICE when you have a sprain. RICE means rest, ice, compression, and elevation.
6. Rest
If you are moving around with a sprain, it will keep on hurting. Especially if you have a sprained ankle. Some instruments are being used to keep your injury at rest. But it will be good for you to pause for a while and only do minimal movements that would not stress your injury. When you failed to rest, it will be much longer for it to heal.
7. Ice
Moreover, it helps in the redness and swelling of your injury. Ice treatment would work best if you put it right away after you have the injury. It will prevent the affected area from swelling and getting worse.
8. Compression
Use an elastic bandage and put it in the site of the injury. You can wrap the area until the swelling goes down. Do not wrap too tight because it can cut off the blood flow.
9. Elevation
Keep your injured area up high. Hence, it may help the body to absorb the extra fluid in the affected part. Aside from RICE, here are some other treatment options.
10. Heat
Putting heat to an injury increases the blood flow that can speed up the healing. It also helps in relaxing the tight muscles and easing the pain. However, it is important not to use heat while the sprained knee or ankle is still swollen. Hence, it can increase the swelling, and it will make the healing process slower.
11. Stretching
Injury puts the muscles at risk of damage. Stretching keeps muscles strong. It is helpful to stretch your joints after the swelling and redness are gone. It helps with keeping the blood from circulating, and it will make your injury heal faster. You do not have to do a very hard stretch. Take it easy at first. Try to flex your joints forward and backward and avoid moving the joint in a direction that hurts.
12. Walking
Start walking short distances once you feel like your injury is almost healed. Then, you can build up to a longer distance when the injury is starting to be okay. Additionally, it is better to avoid too much weight on your joints.
13. Exercise
Exercise helps in restoring your strength and balance. It is also good in preventing the muscles from weakening. Whenever you feel comfortable doing some activities, you can start exercising. You can do a 10 to 15 minutes exercise session every other day.
14. Massage
When your injury is not that serious, you can massage it at home to ease the pain and promote blood flow. But if your injury is serious, you must ask for advice from a qualified massage therapist.
15. Physical Therapy
If you had a serious injury, and even after the injury has healed, you can still feel pain. You can consider visiting a physical therapist. The therapist will find the weak muscles and other causes of the pain. Then, create a customized exercise plan for your condition.
The causes of your injury depend on what area of your body is being affected. The most common cause of a sprained knee is by twisting it during a sports activity. When you fell and outstretched your hand during the fall can cause a wrist injury. Playing racket sports or basketball makes you at risk of a sprain in the thumb. A sprained ankle is a common sprain a person can have. You can get this from walking on an uneven surface or landing on the wrong foot after a jump.
If your hobbies include physical sports, know how to prevent being at risk of having an injury. When you keep on getting a sprain, it will weaken the tissues and muscles in your body. You will be at risk of more it in the future.