Bodybuilding Injury - Bodybuilding Injuries

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Treating Acute Sport Injuries

Immediate treatment for almost all acute athletic injuries is Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation (RICE). Rest is instituted immediately to minimize hemorrhage, injury and swelling. Ice causes dermal vasoconstriction and helps limit inflammation and reduce pain. Compression and elevation help limit edema.

The injured part should be elevated. A bag that is chemically cooled or filled with chipped or crushed ice (which will conform better than ice cubes to body contours) should be placed on a towel over the injured part. An elastic bandage should be wrapped over the ice bag and around the injured part, loosely enough to permit blood flow. After 10 min, the wrapping and the ice bag should be removed, but the injured part should be kept elevated. After a further 10 min, the ice bag and the wrapping should be replaced. Ten minutes with and without ice should be alternated for 60 to 90 mi. This procedure can be repeated several times during the first 24h.

Pathology of ice application

Cold limits swelling by vasoconstrictions and reduction in capillary permeability. It helps to limit pain by reducing impulse transmission from pain receptors. It limits muscle spasm by reducing impulse transmission from tendon receptors to muscles. It limits tissue destruction by decreasing cellular metabolism.

Prolonged application of ice, however, can cause vasodilation, increased swelling, pain, and tissue destruction.

Supports and splints

In most injuries, pain is greatly reduced if the injured part is immobilized correctly. Supportive bandaging or splinting reduces stress, prevents painful movements, and helps control the swelling that is produced when tissues of any kind are damaged. Inflatable splints are a very convenient method of providing a comfortable, removable, adjustable support to a led or an arm.

A simple splinting method is to tie one injured part to a neighboring uninjured part, with crepe bandages, cotton bandages, or scarves and towels.

Splints and bandages should never be tight, as they can constrict the blood flow and cause further damage. To check the circulation, you should press on the thumbnail or toenail on the bandaged limb, to see whether the blood returns to the nail immediately after the pressure has turned it white. If the blood return is sluggish, the bandage must be loosened or removed immediately. It is best not to use non-stretch strapping as a first-aid binding.

Applying heat

Whereas cold therapy can be applied immediately to an injury, and continued through the rehabilitation phases for as long as there is swelling, bruising and pain, heat should only be applied, if at all, in the recovery phases of rehabilitation. Applying heat draws blood to the skin under the heat source. This tends to increase internal bleeding or fluid exudate (swelling) in an immediate injury. Therefore heat is not appropriate in first-aid.

Heat is used later on to relieve muscle tension, promoting relaxation.

Creams

Massage, like heat, aggravates the situation when an injury has just happened. Any cream applied must be laid gently on the skin and allowed to soak in. If you rub it in, not only do you risk increasing internal bleeding, but also you could stimulate blood clotting and bone formation in torn muscle fibers.