More or less violent impacts on the musculoskeletal system, which includes muscles, tendons, fascia and joints, represent sprains, contusions and strains. A sprain can only occur at joints. Preferred joints here are the ankle and wrist. Contusions, on the other hand, affect more the soft tissues, the muscles and the often overlying tendinous plates, the fasciae. Strains are suffered only in the muscles and their ends, which are called tendons. Each of the above injuries differs from the others by specific characteristics. Therefore, the behavior and treatment is also different.
Causes of sprains
In the case of a sprain, for example, when twisting the foot, there are usually inevitably injuries to joint ligaments, joint capsules and muscle parts, as well as their blood vessels. So what can you do yourself if you suffer an injury of this type? A sprain is a violent impact, which is called a traumatic event. In this case, a joint usually briefly, i.e. temporarily, leaves its physiological position, it shifts to another plane, and then returns to its old position. This force, e.g. when the foot is twisted, usually inevitably results in injuries to joint ligaments, joint capsules and muscle parts as well as their blood vessels. The result will often be an associated bruise. This can occur spontaneously and become visible in just a few minutes or seconds, but often it does not appear until several hours later or overnight. A sprain differs from a dislocation in that in the latter, the two parts of the joint remain permanently separated, i.e. dislocated. A dislocated shoulder is typical of a dislocation. Chronic sprains should also be mentioned. They occur even with minor incorrect loads and are caused by existing loosening and overstretching of the joint ligaments and the joint capsule. They then hurt only briefly at the moment of the incorrect load, and then return to normal after a few minutes, with no signs of an actual sprain. This condition is most commonly seen in the ankle.
Treatment
What should be the treatment for an acute sprain? For initial treatment, take an elastic bandage, known as an ideal bandage, 8 cm wide (in no case a gauze bandage) and apply a compressive (compressive) bandage. Over it is cooled. A rule of thumb is to favor compression and cooling for all blunt injuries that are expected to bruise. The latter can be done by running cold water over the bandaged limb or holding it in a bucket of cold water. Ice cubes can be added to the water to increase the cooling effect. An applied ice pack is ideal. You can improvise it by taking ice cubes from a refrigerator and pouring them on a towel. Tie the towel at the top and the ice pack is ready to use. A cold clay pack, repeated every half hour, is also very effective. Immediate treatment with a cooling spray or chloroethyl spray applied immediately after the injury is very useful, but does not preclude the compression and cooling required immediately thereafter in the manner described. Instead of water or ice as a cooling element, alcohol, about 40 percent, which is repeatedly poured on the bandaged limb in a renewing manner, is a good choice. For this purpose, alcohol, rubbing alcohol, sports fluids, or, if necessary, liquor without sugar content, such as old grain, juniper, Steinhäger, etc., can be used. There is only one thing you must not do when using alcohol, surround the soaked bandage with waterproof cloth or plastic. The alcohol must be able to evaporate, only then it develops coldness. If it cannot evaporate for the reasons mentioned above, skin reactions will occur, which are referred to as alcohol burns. As good as alcohol works externally, the consumption of alcoholic beverages after an injury has a negative effect. Administered internally, it dilates the blood vessels and can thus increase the extent of a hematoma. The duration of cooling, it is important, should not exceed 3-4 hours, because then almost any bleeding stands. If one cools beyond that for hours or days, one thereby delays the healing process unnecessarily. In severe cases, it is always necessary to consult a doctor or a clinic and to take an X-ray. After the cooling process, the joint should be bandaged dry, as well as in the subsequent period.After 2-3 days, in normal cases, you can already start moist heat treatment, for which moist heat is suitable, as described under Hot bath as a natural remedy. Ointment dressings under the bandage can be used: For the first 3 days, leech ointments or ointments containing heparin, but starting 24 hours after the injury, not immediately. After about 4 days, a light beginning massage can also be used to remove the bruise residues from the joint area as quickly as possible. Exercise therapy, as the exercise, can then be started. As an iron rule, only do what can be done without pain. Often, it is better to perform the load on the affected joint continuously. For example, it is better to exercise 4 times a day for 10 minutes, than immediately to the pain threshold 1 time 40 minutes. A lot at once does not help much. The recommended interval treatment does not allow an irritable condition to arise, because in the rest periods of a few hours the parts of the body undergoing healing can always recover.
