Imagine you are playing soccer and whilst running on the field you twist your ankle and drop! Many people face such circumstances at any given time while doing a physical activity. This kind of injury is termed as a sprain or a strain, depending on what part is affected.
An Insight into Sprains and Strains
Sprains and strains, both are injuries. A Sprain is a damage caused to the ligament (ligaments are tissues that join bone to bone) in a joint either by a trauma or extending the joint beyond its capacity. Whilst strain is the acute/chronic damage caused to the tendon (tissues that connect muscle to bone), muscle or both due to twisting or pulling of the muscle.
When a sprain occurs, there might be a popping sound and subsequent pain, swelling, restricted mobility of the joint and possible bruising. And when a strain occurs it can happen acutely or over a period of time causing pain, spasms, swelling, bruising and inability to move the muscle.
Common sites for Sprains are ankles and wrists and sites for Strains are back and hamstring muscles.
Causes of Sprains and Strains
Sprains and Strains can affect anybody. However, certain situations can make you more liable to injury.
- Exercises or athletics
- Accidental
- Lifting heavy weights
- Overexertion
- Uncomfortable positions
- Repetitive Motions
Risk Factors
Some risk factors are responsible for Sprains and Strains. They are:
- Not warming up before exercising. Warming up is essential for preventing any form of injury. It does so by increasing the range of motion. Whilst cooling down stretching helps in increasing the joint support.
- Environmental factors such as slippery surfaces due to ice, water and so on.
- Shoes that don?t fit you well could be responsible for injuries.
- Awkward positioning of the body due to tiredness is also a reason for these kinds of injuries.
- If you are not in touch with exercising and/ or obese, lax musculature and weak joints are not capable of bearing the weight of the body and its movements leading to an injury.
Treatment and Prevention
First aid for both of these injuries is the same i.e.
- Resting the affected area and not using that part till it heals is vital.
- Ice application on the injured part helps in reducing swelling and inflammation.
- Compression bandages help in reducing the swelling. Too tight bandages can cut off the blood supply. Hence carefully bandage the affected part.
- Elevating the affected part above the level of the heart reduces swelling.
Remembering the above as mnemonic RICE will help you provide the required first aid for your loved one! Also, OTC medicines such as painkillers help in alleviating the pain.
If the pain persists beyond 2 weeks, it is better to see your Doctor as it might be a more serious problem which requires medical attention.
Sprains and Strains can occur even if you try your best to prevent it. Still, some precautions can be taken in order to reduce the peril of the injury. They are:
- Stretching before and after exercise along with a regular exercise
- Be careful while walking on slippery surfaces
- Wearing the right shoes while playing any sport or exercising will prevent related injuries.
- Try to get breaks frequently and stretch. Give rest to your musculature. By doing this, injuries can be prevented that is caused due to continuous motion or continuously being in the same position.
Treatment in Homoeopathy
Doliosis D83 Sprainil is a Homoeopathic product that helps to relieve the pain caused due to sprains and strains. The medicines used for preparing this product specifically act on the injury site and promote effective healing. It can be used for all ages safely, without any side effects. Also, it can be taken easily along with other medication.