Toll Free 1-877-626-4500
Quick Links Home
The Need For Speed
It is critically important to apply ice and compression immediately after an injury. Studies show that recovery from an injury is directly related to how soon ice and compression are applied. More Ice Therapy facts »
Healing Winter Sports Injuries
Category: RICES
Jan 15, 2007
So you were lucky enough to get away to a snow-filled vacation spot this winter. Excited as a banker getting his bonus check, you attack the slopes. By the end of day one, you're king of the mountain--that is, until you overdo it, badly twist your knee and injure your medial collateral ligament.
Before you accept a fate of hobbling around in pain all winter or a month of couch confinement, doctors say there are a few things you can do to speed along your recovery.
As soon as you're hurt, think of the acronym RICE: rest the injured extremity, ice it, use compression and elevate it, says Dr. William I. Sterett, head team physician for the U.S. Women's Alpine Ski Team and partner at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colo.
The aim is to decrease inflammation around the injury. An anti-inflammatory drug, such as Ibuprofen, can help too.
Resist the temptation to hop in the hot tub, or at least keep the battered extremity out of hot water, which will increase blood flow and inflammation right after an injury, Sterett says. Hot tubbing instead of icing a wound can make the difference between a seven- to 10-day recovery and a four-week one.
Next comes the hard part. How do you know if you should see a doctor? If over the following two to three days you see improvement, you will probably recover on your own. If an injured knee, for instance, swells and you don't have full motion, call the doctor.