Sports injuries are often not preventable, so it is important to be prepared and ready in case one happens to you or your child.  When you receive proper care after a sports injury you increase the chances that a long term condition will not develop.  Thins like rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica and osteoarthritis are some of the conditions that could develop.  Follow these tips to make sure your sports injury has the best chance of healing.

Stop The Activity And Check The Injury

If you sustain an injury you should immediately stop the activity that caused the injury.  Continuing to exercise or play a sport will only make things worse.  You should evaluate the injuryand try to gauge the severity.  Things like signs of trauma, swelling, bleeding, bruising, stiffness, deformity or a bone out of place, muscle or limb weakness or joint pain are signs that the injury should be addressed by a physicians.  Gather information like how severe the pain is on a scale of 1-10 and if it is worse at rest or when moving, and whether it hurts to apply pressure.

At-Home Treatments

For injuries that has minimal swelling, bruising and pain, you can likely treat the injury at home.  Of course it is still important to limit your physical activity until the injury heals.  Anti-inflammatory pain medicine like Advil, or Motrin are great ways to treat swelling and inflammation from a sports injury.  To treat swelling you should use an ice or cold pack for 20 minutes four to eight times each day on the injury, and keep the limb elevated above heart level.

When To See The Doctor

Any serious sports injury should be seen immediately by an urgent care or emergency room doctor.  If pain continues then an Orthopaedic or Sports Medicine physician should examine your injury as well, especially if the injury has not shown improvement within two to three weeks.  An Orthopaedic physician can help you to decrease swelling and inflammation, and try to prevent long term pain, so don’t wait too long to book an appointment.

If you have a sports injury you want to have checked out, whether it be something that happened recently, or an old injury, give our office a call!

770-421-1420

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