Heal Sprain/Strain Injuries Faster
Heal sprain/strain injuries faster with chiropractic
Sprain/strains are some of the most common injuries suffered by Americans and contribute to a lot of pain & disability. These injuries can occur throughout the body and vary from mild to severe. An understanding of sprain/strain injuries can help prevent your acute injury from turning into a chronic problem.
A sprain/strain occurs when soft tissues like muscle fibers or ligaments are torn. Disc fibers and joint capsules may also be damaged in a sprain/strain injury. Once the injury occurs, the body goes into repair mode with three phases of healing:
Phase 1. Inflammatory- you may quickly notice a combination of swelling, redness, warmth, and pain in the injured area. This increases over the first 2-3 days, which is why you may notice more pain the 2nd or 3rd day than immediately after injury.
Phase 2. Repair- the body now tries to glue the damaged tissues back together over the next several days to weeks. This special glue is better known as scar tissue. Unlike nicely aligned muscle and ligament fibers, new scar tissue fibers are a tangled mess and don’t move as well. You may start to notice increasing stiffness or tension even if you had not felt any pain.
Phase3. Remodeling- after several weeks, pain is often well-reduced, but the injury has yet to fully heal. This phase can take months as the body tries to restore proper function to the area of injury. Movement helps the scar tissue align and move like normal tissue.
How can we speed up the healing process?
A sprain/strain occurs when soft tissues like muscle fibers or ligaments are torn. Disc fibers and joint capsules may also be damaged in a sprain/strain injury. Once the injury occurs, the body goes into repair mode with three phases of healing:
Phase 1. Inflammatory- you may quickly notice a combination of swelling, redness, warmth, and pain in the injured area. This increases over the first 2-3 days, which is why you may notice more pain the 2nd or 3rd day than immediately after injury.
Phase 2. Repair- the body now tries to glue the damaged tissues back together over the next several days to weeks. This special glue is better known as scar tissue. Unlike nicely aligned muscle and ligament fibers, new scar tissue fibers are a tangled mess and don’t move as well. You may start to notice increasing stiffness or tension even if you had not felt any pain.
Phase3. Remodeling- after several weeks, pain is often well-reduced, but the injury has yet to fully heal. This phase can take months as the body tries to restore proper function to the area of injury. Movement helps the scar tissue align and move like normal tissue.
How can we speed up the healing process?
- After an injury, use ice. Apply for 10-20 minutes up to once each hour to reduce inflammation.
- Don’t wait for excruciating pain or an inability to move to schedule a check-up. If you notice problems lasting beyond 2 days, schedule an evaluation. This is your chance to avoid an acute injury becoming a chronic problem.
- Eat an anti-inflammation diet to keep inflammation to a minimum.
- Chiropractic adjustments address all phases of healing by reducing pain & inflammation, and assisting repair & remodeling for improved function.
- As soon as pain is reducing, get moving again.
