Rest:<\/strong> Rest is an integral part of the injury rehabilitation process for two reasons. First, rest\u00a0protects the injured muscle, tendon, ligament or other soft tissue from further injury. Second, a\u00a0rested limb has the energy necessary to heal itself most effectively.<\/p>\n Ice:<\/strong> Use ice packs, bags of ice, or bags of frozen vegetables wrapped in a thin towel. Make sure\u00a0the towel isn\u2019t too thick so the treatment will be the more effective. Cold brings short-term\u00a0pain relief and reduces swelling by constricting the blood vessels and in turn, blood-flow into\u00a0the area. NEVER LEAVE ICE ON AN INJURY FOR MORE THAN 20 MINUTES. Long-term exposure\u00a0to cold can cause damage to your skin. The best rule is to ice 15 minutes, remove for 15-20\u00a0minutes, and then repeat the treatment. Following treatment, vasodilatation occurs – meaning,\u00a0the blood vessels expand and bring much-needed nutrients to the area.<\/p>\n Compression:<\/strong> Compression is another way to curb swelling. This is important, as swelling\u00a0impedes the healing process. Compression also reduces pain in some cases. The best way to\u00a0compress an injury is to wrap it with an ace bandage. I advise wrapping an ice pack under the\u00a0bandage when the injury first occurs. If you feel throbbing, rewrap the area with slightly less\u00a0tension on the ace bandage.<\/p>\n Elevation:<\/strong> Elevating the injury is an additional way to bring down swelling. Keep the elevation\u00a0at the same level as your heart.<\/p>\n After 48 hours, you should feel relief from your injury, and both the swelling and pain should be\u00a0reduced. In other words, the healing process has begun. If not, see your physician or even go\u00a0to the emergency room if you deem it necessary. Once the swelling has subsided, try to gently\u00a0stretch the area and slowly work the range of motion in the joint.<\/p>\n The Heat or Ice Debate<\/strong><\/p>\n Both using heat and ice to treat an injury or muscle soreness can have positive effects, and is\u00a0always better than no treatment at all. What does each treatment do and which of them\u00a0should we use when? 20 minutes of cold therapy immediately after an injury is what is\u00a0recommended. It signals the skin receptors to activate the sympathetic nervous system to\u00a0constrict blood vessels. That in turn will reduce swelling and inflammation. You can use ice\u00a0packs for immersion in cold water. The cooling effect also helps to minimize muscle spasms\u00a0and pain.<\/p>\n If one places a hot pack on the injury, it increases the temperature of the soft tissue around the\u00a0injury and therefore boosts blood flow, dilates the local blood vessels, and keeps those muscles\u00a0more elastic, which will also reduce muscle spasm. By increasing blood flow in this manner, you\u00a0help clear metabolic waste products like carbon dioxide from the area, helping to speed up\u00a0healing.<\/p>\n But there is a third alternative and that is alternating heat and ice. Research says this method\u00a0reduces injury in the first acute stages. It causes your blood vessels to expand (dilate) and then\u00a0with the ice constrict them. This stimulates blood flow throughout the area. It seems to\u00a0activate multiple recuperative and physiological mechanisms that enhance recovery (Cochrane\u00a02004). When doing the alternating between the two, use heat first and ice second. You should\u00a0use the heat for 4 minutes and one minute of ice and do that for 20-25 minutes.<\/p>\n Nothing isn\u2019t an Option<\/strong><\/p>\n Unfortunately, many times when someone sustains an injury, they opt out of exercise\u00a0altogether. Sometimes, my clients call me and tell me their doctor said \u201cno exercise for a week\u00a0or so\u201d. The thing is this; if you twist an ankle or injure a hand or wrist, why punish your heart\u00a0and lungs by not doing an aerobic exercise? Be creative and try a bike or elliptical or\u00a0swimminguntil the injury fully heals. Many years ago, I severely sprained my foot and ankle and\u00a0could barely walk let alone do the running I was used to at that time. But I still lifted weights,\u00a0worked my abs and used and exercise bike instead. There is almost always a work around\u00a0when it comes to doing exercise.<\/p>\n Injuries come with the territory, but Donny managed to find alternatives until his ankle injury\u00a0healed. His weight loss is continuing even though it is at a slightly slower pace. He now knows\u00a0that being proactive and using ice and heat can help repair an injury faster. In addition, next\u00a0week he will be able to start some basic strengthening for that area and we hope it is only\u00a0another few days until he is back on his feet. Treating an injury properly and finding ways to\u00a0exercise creatively will \u201cadd hours to your day, days to your year, and years to your life.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Alan Freishtat<\/strong> is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a BEHAVIORAL CHANGE and WELLNESS COACH with over 19 years of professional experience. Alan is the creator and director of the \u201c10 Weeks to Health\u201d program for weight loss. He is available for private coaching sessions, consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs both in his office and by telephone and skype. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at\u00a002-651-8502<\/a> or 050-555-7175<\/a>, or by email at\u00a0alan@alanfitness.com<\/a> Check out the his web site \u2013www.alanfitness.com<\/a> US Line: 516-568-5027<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It was week 4 of Donny\u2019s weight loss program. He started out great! He had made enough\u00a0changes in his eating to already make a big difference. His biggest challenge in terms of over\u00a0eating was Shabbos, and he had finally conquered that challenge. For the first time in his adult\u00a0life, he exercising and not only was<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":469,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"yoast_head":"\n
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