Sports injury recovery methods

Within 72 hours after the injury, the focus is on controlling swelling and avoiding secondary injuries. In the subacute stage (3-14 days after the injury), the goal is to gradually restore mobility and rebuild muscle strength. In the chronic stage, it is necessary to adjust movement patterns and gradually return to exercise. The difference in recovery plans among different schools is mainly reflected in the selection of intervention methods. There is no absolute right or wrong, it just depends on whether it suits your injury degree and exercise needs.

To be honest, I came to this conclusion after running three half-marathons, spraining my ankle twice, and suffering from iliotibial band syndrome once in the past three years. I also talked with rehabilitation doctors, physical coaches, and even the team doctor of the provincial team. In the past, I always felt that when I was injured, I had to either lie down until it didn’t hurt at all, or grit my teeth and continue practicing. I have been through both pitfalls. The worst case was iliotibial banditis, which lasted for 3 months. Even going up and down stairs caused pain on the outside of my leg.

Take the treatment of newly injured patients in the acute phase as an example. The two most controversial principles in the industry right now are RICE and POLICE. Most old-school orthopedic surgeons believe in RICE. To put it bluntly, it means rest, ice, compression bandage, and elevating the affected limb. The first time I went to take a X-ray on my sprained foot, there was no fracture. The doctor directly put a hard brace on me and asked me to stay off the ground for two weeks. However, a sports rehabilitation practitioner I am familiar with gave completely opposite advice: use crutches and gently touch the injured foot to the ground for 10 minutes every day. The force should be controlled within a pain-free range. The POLICE principles that have become more popular in recent years are used: protection, appropriate weight-bearing, ice, compression, and elevation. Who do you think is wrong? In fact, they are all correct. Later I figured out that if the X-ray shows a third-degree ligament tear or even a bone fracture, then the brakes must be applied to give the tissue time to repair. But if it is just a mild soft tissue sprain, appropriate stress stimulation can speed up the absorption of swelling. I followed the rehabilitation doctor's method that time, and I was able to walk slowly after 4 days. It was faster than the last time I lay down with my sprained foot for 10 days.

After 72 hours, the swelling had almost subsided and there was no excruciating pain when I pressed on it, so I entered the sub-acute stage where it is easiest to get into trouble. At this time, many people think, "I don't have pain anymore = it's better." and go straight to play ball or run, as there is a high chance that it will relapse. I suffered from this problem when I had iliotibial banditis. Just three days after the pain subsided, I ran a 5-kilometer sprint. I was so painful that I squatted on the roadside and took a taxi to the hospital. At this stage, the intervention methods of different schools vary even more. My mother always asked me to do massage and acupuncture, saying that it would be good if the meridians were unblocked. I tried it twice, and the iliotibial band that had been tight for a long time was indeed softened a lot, and the pulling feeling when walking was much lighter. But the rehabilitation therapist watched me practice clam pose and single-leg glute bridge every day, saying that my gluteus medius muscle strength was too weak, and I relied on the outside of my leg to compensate for walking and running. Even if I loosened the iliotibial band, my knees would still be rubbed the next time I ran. I listened to both sides. I used acupuncture twice a week to relax the tense soft tissues and practiced gluteal muscles for 15 minutes a day. Within two weeks, I basically felt no discomfort.

Oh, by the way, there are also injuries that are not caused by acute sprains, but are fatigue injuries caused by long-term incorrect movements, such as acromion impingement commonly caused by fitness parties and fatigue periostitis of the tibia and fibula in runners. The recovery logic is different. Many fitness friends around me have this problem. When practicing bench presses or shoulder presses, they always feel their shoulders snap. If it hurts, I rest for two days. If it feels better, I practice again. Over and over again, it never gets better. In fact, it is not that I have not recovered at all, but that the movements are fundamentally wrong. I used to have shoulder pain when doing bench presses, and I applied blood-activating and blood-stasis-removing ointment for half a month, but it didn't work. Later, the coach changed my grip distance and didn't let me fully straighten my arms and lock my elbows when pressing. He also asked me to do 3 sets of Lucky Cat before each exercise to activate the rotator cuff. Within a week, the snapping and pain disappeared. This kind of chronic injury is useless if you just maintain it. If you don't change the movement pattern, you will only get injured repeatedly.

I have also seen many people take painkillers or spray powerful painkiller aerosols in order to recover quickly. The pain is suppressed, but the damage is actually still there. If you force yourself to exercise, you will only drag the small injury into a big one. A junior whom I met from playing basketball before sprained his ankle and came on the court after spraying painkillers. It was originally a mild sprain, but eventually the ligament was partially torn. He had to rest for half a year before he could run and jump normally. Really, pain is an alarm sent by your body. Don’t press this alarm casually.

In fact, I still don’t think there is any absolutely correct recovery formula. If you are a professional athlete who is rushing to compete, then the rapid recovery plan given by the team doctor will definitely be the most suitable for your needs.； If you are an ordinary sports enthusiast, don’t panic if you get injured. First, take a radiograph to rule out serious problems such as fractures and ligament tears. Then, whether it is massage and acupuncture from traditional Chinese medicine or rehabilitation training from Western medicine, as long as it can slowly restore your exercise ability without repeated recurrence, then it is a good method for you. Don’t believe those gimmicks on the Internet about “quick recovery of sprained feet in three days”. When it comes to recovery, stability is much more important than speed.