Application on the knee
The PECH rule is also a good guide for knee injuries, which are particularly common among sports injuries. Above all other things, the focus should be on the P – break – in case of knee injuries!Especially when it is still unclear whether ligaments or tendons are affected at the joint or even the basic bony structure might be injured, the affected knee should under no circumstances be bent or stretched against resistance. The rule of thumb is to adopt the position that hurts the least and not to change it afterwards.
In most cases of knee injuries, this is a slightly bent rest position that does not tilt inwards or outwards. A visit to the doctor should also follow promptly in the case of knee injuries. Further diagnostic measures or therapeutic steps may be necessary.
Application for torn muscle fibers
The PECH rule also lends itself to first aid measures in the event of a torn muscle fibre. If all the intermediate steps are followed consistently, the loss following the injury can be kept as low as possible. The faster the fixation and cooling of a ruptured muscle fiber, the shorter the break from sports and the subsequent rehabilitation period will be. It should be noted, however, that the duration of the acute treatment of a torn muscle fiber is different: After only 2 days, there is very rarely an improvement, so that the sports break and all other letters are longer.
Application for a bruise
A frequent injury, especially in the field of recreational sports, is a muscle contusion. A hard blow or something similar on the usually very tense muscle causes small injuries in this muscle. If you follow the PECH-scheme for bruises, in many cases a visit to the doctor can be avoided.
Since the main problem of the contusion is bleeding into the muscle, which results in bruising, rapid cooling is particularly important: the cold stimulus coming from outside causes the smallest blood vessels to contract tightly and reduce the blood flow. This results in a reduced blood flow to the injured area. If less blood generally reaches the bruised area, only a small amount can of course escape into the tissue and the subsequent bruise will be significantly smaller. A well applied compression bandage has a similar effect.
