It is a common idea that exercise is one of the standard ways of keeping a person physically fit and physiologically efficient. It is also an avenue of gaining muscles or losing weight. A person who is involved in the exercise is exposed to normal stressors, which activate a response from within the body to cope up and meet the demands of such activities. This raises the level of output of a person to some extent and that is a good and beneficial thing because the body is then able to level off with the present. However, there are times when we are injured due to an inappropriate method, or because of an accident, or some other reason. Staying healthy while injured is still possible while exercising without risking the injured body part of further damages or complications.
There is a simple mnemonic called RICE which could aid us how to treat any injury that we have and stay healthy without complicating our injuries further. This stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevate.
REST
With a body injury that we are conscious about, it may be accompanied with pain and discomfort especially with ambulation. Because of this, we may actually not want to move it about and put any pressure on it with activities or such. The only ways to stop these feelings of discomfort and pain would be to take painkillers or rest the injured part. Having to let the injured body part rest is essential for that specific part to efficiently speed up its healing process. Staying healthy while injured may still be accomplished by having the other body parts continue with the exercise routines.
ICE
Right after an injury like a sprain or strain, the affected joint or body part begins to swell as body fluids starts to rush to the injury site. This would prove a very uncomfortable feeling and a sensation of numbness if the swelling would cause the impingement of surrounding nerves as well. This usually happens from several minutes to a few hours after the injury. Healing also becomes a little slower after a swell because the affected area if already full with non-healing fluid.
What is needed after an injury that would probably cause a swelling is to apply ice packs on the affected body part and immediate area surrounding it. This is to prevent any vascular vessel to openly allow the flow of fluid towards it. Since the body is designed to normally shut constrict vessels when cold stimuli is applied, it would help in the slowdown and prevention of unwanted swelling. However, proper care should be observed as not to totally numb the senses with the cold ice. Maintaining a temperature of 10 to 15 degrees Celsius for not more than 15 minutes should be safe. Any longer, and the vascular vessels begin to take a Rebound Effect and actually does the reverse effect for the intended purpose.
COMPRESS
Compression is simply the act of wrapping the injured body part with a bandage and covering them securely and snugly to add pressure to the injury. This is done with a couple of hand towels or a bandage wrap. The ice that is supposed to be applied previously could be applied with a compressive method. Furthermore, compression allows for the effect of the ice to be in constant contact with the injured body part.
ELEVATE
Elevating the body part after securely fastening and stabilizing the injured body part increases the level of comfort for the person and also speeds up the uninterrupted healing process.
Staying healthy when injured may impede a certain level of maximum body activity efficiency, but still allows continued exercise routine for other unaffected body parts. Just make sure that priority on this would be to securely prevent any other movements or unnecessary pressure to be placed on the injury.
