Minor sports injuries
If your injury does not require medical treatment – for example, a mild sprain or other minor muscle or ligament damage – you can treat it at home using RICE therapy.
RICE stands for:
- Rest – avoid regular exercise and reduce your daily physical activity. Using crutches or a walking stick may help if you cannot put weight on your ankle or knee.
- Ice – apply an ice pack to the affected area for 10–30 minutes. A bag of frozen peas, or similar, will work well. Wrap the ice pack in a towel to avoid it directly touching your skin and causing ice burn.
- Compression – use elastic compression bandages to limit swelling.
- Elevation – keep the injured leg, knee, arm, elbow or wrist raised above the level of the heart. This may also help to reduce swelling.
After 48 hours of RICE therapy, stop compression and try moving the injured area. If, after this time, your symptoms are worse, seek advice from your GP.
RICE therapy can be useful for any sports injury, but some injuries may require additional treatment.
Pain relief
Painkillers, such as paracetamol, can be used along with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, to help ease the pain caused by sprains and fractures and help reduce any swelling.
Aspirin should not be given to children under 16 years of age because it can trigger a condition called Reye’s syndrome, which can cause brain and liver damage.
Immobilisation
Immobilisation is a treatment that helps prevent further damage by reducing movement. It also reduces pain, muscle swelling and muscle spasm, and speeds up the healing process by encouraging blood to flow directly to the injured area.
A sling can be used to immobilise an arm or shoulder. A splint or cast made of plastic or fibreglass will protect injured bones and soft tissue.
After a knee injury or knee surgery, a leg immobiliser, made from foam rubber, may be used to keep the knee in a fixed position and prevent it from bending.
Corticosteroid injection
If you have severe or persistent inflammation, a corticosteroid injection may be recommended. As well as reducing inflammation, it will help prevent long-term muscle and ligament damage.
During a corticosteroid injection, a fine needle will be used to inject the steroid cortisone into the tender area. It will usually be combined with an anaesthetic so that it is not painful.
Most people who have a corticosteroid injection find that their pain improves significantly or disappears completely within four weeks of treatment. For some people, pain relief is temporary and the pain returns after a few weeks. In such cases, two or three corticosteroid injections may be needed over a few weeks.
The risk of side effects after a corticosteroid injection is small, although you may have some increased discomfort at the site of the injection for up to 48 hours.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy involves using massage, manipulation and special exercises to improve the range of motion and return the function of injured areas to normal.
For example, people who are recovering from a long-term injury may benefit from a programme of walking and swimming to help strengthen the muscles in the affected body part.
Massage
Some sports therapists and coaches believe that massage may be an effective method of speeding up the recovery process. Supporters of massage argue that it helps in two main ways:
- It encourages the flow of blood into the affected body part and the nutrients in blood can help repair any damaged tissue.
- It increases flexibility in the affected body part.
Massage is not recommended if you have a serious soft-tissue injury, such as a torn ligament, as it could make the injury worse.
Despite being a very popular treatment, there is little hard evidence that massage is effective in aiding recovery. However, it can reduce stress levels and make you feel more relaxed, which may be important benefits themselves.
Heat treatment and ultrasound therapy
Some sport therapists argue that using heat therapy (heat pads or lamps) and ultrasound therapy (high-energy sound waves) may work in a similar way to massage by stimulating blood flow to the affected body part. However, as with massage, the evidence for the effectiveness of both these treatments is not conclusive.
There is evidence that ultrasound can help improve flexibility in damaged joints, but this may not necessarily always be a good thing. If a damaged joint is moved too far before it has fully healed, it could lead to further damage.
Ultrasound also seems to speed up the healing process of fractured bones. However, there is little evidence that it speeds up the healing process in other types of sports injury.
Heat treatment seems to help relieve pain, but there is little evidence that it can speed up the healing process.
Surgery
Most sports injuries do not require surgery. However, very severe injuries, such as a torn ligament or badly broken bones, may require corrective surgery.
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation is an important part of treating sports injuries. A rehabilitation programme aims to return the injured body part to normal function by gradually introducing it to movement and exercise.
With most sports injuries, it helps to move the injured part as soon as possible to help speed up the healing process. Gentle exercises should help improve the area’s range of motion. As movement becomes easier and the pain decreases, stretching and strengthening exercises can be introduced.
During the rehabilitation process, you should not attempt to do too much too quickly. Start by doing frequent repetitions of a few simple exercises before gradually increasing the amount that you do. Avoid painful activities and do not return to your sport until you have no pain, and full strength and flexibility have returned to the injured area.
A healthcare professional, such as a physiotherapist or sports injury specialist, can help you design a suitable rehabilitation programme and advise you about which exercises you should do and the number of repetitions.
