The knees and all the muscles surrounding it are integral parts of an individual’s fitness goals; may it be for athletes who run, do sports, or those who make lateral movements.
Taking care of our knee means taking care of the whole lower body. But we cannot avoid the possibility of unexpected incidents that make this significant body part’s performance affected.
Injuries? Pain? Don’t worry! We’ve got key points you could always remember when working on knee pain or an injury.
RICE.
In events that the pain is caused by a stretched or torn ligament or cartilage, remember to Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.
- Rest- In the next 2-3 days where you could experience the most pain and swelling, reduce the length of time you spend standing and walking.
- Ice- With 2 hours interval, in 20 minutes each time, place ice covered in a damp towel on the affected area.
- Compression- Cover your knees with firm but not tight bandaging to help lessen the pain and unwrap it every night.
- Elevation- to reduce bleeding and swelling, keep your knee raised on a pillow.
HARM.
You would want to keep yourself away from harm, right? Most especially during times that you suffer from a knee injury. So, during such circumstances, do yourself a favor and avoid Heat, Alcohol, Running, and Massage to attain fast recovery and healing for your pain.
- Heat- In the meantime, keep yourself away from hot baths or hot packs. It will not remove the pain, it will just make it worse.
- Alcohol- This thins the blood which makes it run faster towards the injured area. Too much blood on the injury will worsen swelling and will lead to slower and delayed healing.
- Running- When in pain, rest. That should be a given, right?
- Massage- It is not bad to have your injured knee massaged, just make sure that it was consulted with an expert, and that the massage done is advised for therapeutic healing.
After 3 days, the rest is over. It is already fine to assume that your knees are slowly going back to its original best. Work it out slowly by trying to walk normally, heel to toe. Additionally, cycling, aqua jogging, and swimming can also be done as long as your knees aren’t that stressed to do so. There would still be pain but after a week or so, it should start to moderately settle down.
However, if and only if, your knees still swell and ache after 7 days, you feel numbness or tingling on your calf or your foot when you try to walk, or you find it difficult to bend and move your knees even after following some helpful tips for faster recovery, do not take a second thought on seeking for professional help. In some cases, an MRI scan or even an x-ray will be needed. It is always better to be sure than to be sorry.
These tips mentioned are really helpful for knee pain or injury’s complete and successful healing. But above all else, the best advice one should always keep in mind is to avoid accidents in the first place to make his way out of any injury possible. Just like what everybody says, “Prevention is better than cure.”
Thank you,
Glenda ,Charlie and David Cates
