What should I do when I get injured?

While the answer to the above question depends on the type and severity of the injury, for most simple, uncomplicated musculoskeletal traumas such as slight sprains and strains, R.I.C.E will come to the rescue. For all others, seek the assessment and advice of a qualified expert.

Rest: To reduce risk of further injury, trauma, pain, or compensation patterns. This can include stopping the painful activity or using supports such as slings/crutches to offload the injured area for a short period of time, and as appropriate. Rest should NOT usually entail complete sedentary behaviour but rather should be directed towards avoidance of pain-provoking activity. For example, if you’ve hurt your shoulder playing golf and it hurts every time you swing a club, might be a good idea to take a break from golfing.  It doesn’t mean you should stop walking and set up shop on your couch, feeding your feelings of woe with chips and ice cream.

Ice: To control swelling and pain. Commercial gel ice packs work really well, with frozen peas coming in a close second. Ideally you want a cold pack that will conform to the injured area. When using any form of icing, be wary of putting the cold pack directly against the skin as this can potentially lead to frostbite. A safer option is to cover your ice pack in a moistened towel and place the covered pack over the injury site. Typically aim for 20 minutes on followed by an hour off. Repeat once or twice.

Too much compression?

Compression: To help with swelling, to brace/support the injured area, and to remind yourself that the area is injured. Tensor bandages, various commercial sleeves (e.g. elbow, knee, ankle), athletic tape can all help with creating compression in the injured area. Compression should be strong but should not be so intense as to cut off circulation. Also, to make sure that you aren’t overly compressed, remove your support/brace/tape every so often to let circulation flow unimpeded. You should never develop numbness, tingling or loss of sensation from using a compressive device.

Elevation: To help control swelling, which in turn will often decrease pain. Gravity is not just a good idea, but a law. Use this to your advantage to help drain extra fluids from injured areas. Try to get your injured site above heart level. The longer you can keep the area higher up, the less likely that fluid will pool at the injured area. Elevation works really well when coupled with R.I.C from above. For example, if you’ve sprained your ankle, you could lie on your back with your foot supported above you (pillows, stool etc), ankle wrapped in a tensor and covered in a cold gel pack for 20 minutes.

These four action steps, held in high regard by physiotherapists, chiropractors and personal trainers globally, have helped numerous individuals manage and mitigate the negative fallout from a sudden minor traumas for years.

They are, and will continue to be, one of the best first responses for these types of acute injuries.

Yours in movement.

Team Primal

 

One Man. Two Ratchet Sets. And lots of metal.

Our Philosophy Wall: Get Primal.

 

 

The Primal Unveiling

 

Why am I in pain?

Do you get out of bed feeling tired, sore and achy, even after having slept for 8 hours?

Do you come home from work, at the end of along day, your neck and shoulders screaming at you, tight and tense?

Does your knee wobble, give out, and curse every time you try to jog around the block or even tackle a set of stairs?

The bad news: you’re probably hurting yourself every single day without even knowing it.

Sounds strange doesn’t it? But for most of you out there, it’s true.

From back pain to neck pain to shoulder pain or even knee pain, there is likely something you do everyday that keeps you in pain.

The good news…

It can be fixed!

There’s a good chance that with the appropriate steps, a splash of education and a dash of dedication, you can be pain free and doing the things you love. And usually, these fixes don’t have to consume your free time or even cause huge changes in your life!

So what’s the fix?

Postural Awareness!

Postural awareness is your awareness of your posture throughout the day. Since a large number of injuries, aches and pains (such as those described above) can be attributed to repetitive strain and overuse, being aware of your posture can help you decrease the chances of this happening.

How is posture implicated in repetitive strain and overuse injuries?

For example, if you work in an office setting all day, you likely spend a large amount of time sitting at a desk. This would likely involve using a computer, talking on the phone, writing etc. But overall, it’d be fair to say that you’d spend most of your time seated. If you’re like most people, you also likely slouch when seated. And again, like most people, you probably slouch the same way you always do, in the same position.

By holding these sustained slouched postures for a good chunk of the day (5 or 6 or more hours), the various components of your body such as your joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments are forced to do more work or different work than they’re designed to do. Over time, these repetitive stresses build up and cause small injuries called micro-traumas to these structures. As time goes on, these micro-traumas accumulate causing changes in how you move or use your body (compensations).

At first these compensations are quite small and you probably won’t even notice them. It may be something as simple as a slight weight shift onto one hip more than the other when you’re sitting or a sneaky elevation of the shoulder when you reach for something.

As these compensations continue to take place, the micro-traumas become bigger problems, which we call macro-traumas. Think of this as the straw that breaks the camel’s back. These are the ones you’ll notice. This is where the pain stops you from doing the things you love doing and really starts impacting your life.

What can you do?

  1. Change your postures often: You can do this by getting up and moving around more. Or change your position every time the phone rings. Our bodies are designed for movement. The more they move, the better they function and the healthier we are!
  2. Improve your fitness: If your fitness level is higher, you, and your body, can tolerate more stress before hitting a breaking point. Plus, as an added bonus, exercise can be a great stress buster! Who couldn’t do with less stress in their life?
  3. Improve your nutrition: In fact, this component may be one of the most most important steps you can take to change your life for the better. As your mama always told you, you are what you eat! Unfortunately for many North Americans, life is busy. And that means that we try to find fast and convenient ways to feed ourselves. Sadly, our choices tend to be sub-optimal which will then impact our body’s ability to prevent injury or recover from injury.

How we can help

Our highly trained team of physiotherapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, personal trainers can help you get back to the business of life by consulting with you to design a personalized treatment plan to assist with a variety of injuries, aches and pains. Contact us to start on your journey to your Optimal Health and Ultimate Performance.

How can a physiotherapist in Woodbridge improve your health?

There’s Health and Then There’s Optimal Health.

Health is the ability to survive. Optimal Health is the ability to thrive.

Optimal Health is about taking, or regaining, control of your life, from managing stress to dealing with nagging aches and pains. It means doing everything you can to recover from injury, illness, or surgeries; it means being an active participant in your own care.

It’s about taking the right steps to improve your most valuable asset: your health.

Optimal Health is about living with an abundance of energy so you can readily take on daily challenges. It encompasses your nutritional status and your general fitness. It’s more than just doing the bare minimum to get by. It’s about reaching your true, untapped potential. It’s your opportunity to show the world who you really are. It’s your opportunity to shine.

The choice is yours…

You can choose plain, regular health. And just float through life in a haze, scraping by.

Or you can choose Optimal Health and experience the endless possibilities.

At Primal Human Performance, we’re here to help you find solutions to your problems.

Contact us today to start living your life, on your terms!