injuries3

One of most frequent martial arts injury by far is the muscle strain. Strains can occur in both muscles and connecting tendons & is caused by a sudden extreme force applied to the muscle & tendon that is greater than the area's ability to handle. When treating sprains it must be remembered that a muscle & its tendon operate as a single unit & that injury to one will effect the other. A mild to moderate strain consists of a simple tear of the muscle fibres. Treatment consists protecting the muscle & tendon from further injury untill healling is complete. Immediate treatment should include ice-packs to the injured area followed by a compressive wrap. Forceful, quick contractions of the injured area should be avoided at all costs until pain & swelling subsides.Daily stretching & slow contractions of the injured area followed by ice if needed will speed recovery. A severe strain consists of a complete tear of the tendon from its boney attachment & can be easily identified by a complete loss of funtion of the muscle-tendon group. Treatment is immediate attention by a qualified physician. Surgical repair will be necessary in most cases. A sprain is an injury to the ligament structure & the degree of damage depends on the amount of damage to the ligament itself. Ligaments are designed to hold to boney areas together at the joint & to prevent excess motion of the joint. A mild sprain involves only a small portion of the ligament with minimal tearing of the ligament fibres. Treatment involves releiving symptoms only. This is best accomplished by applying ice to the injured area followed by a supportive elastic wrap. As pain subsides activity can usually be continued without restriction. A moderate sprain involves up to half the ligament fibres being torn. Moderate sprains are immediately painful & accompanied by swelling & some disability in the moving joint. The healing of a moderate sprain is slow & requires six to eight weeks for complete recovery (as long as a broken bone!). During this time partially torn ligaments must be protected by wrapping or strapping. Complete immobolization is usually the best treatment until the healing is complete. When treating ALL soft-tissue & muscle-to-bone injuries a quick & easy method to use is the ICER method.

Ice the injured area.
Compression on the injured area.
Elevation of the injured area.
Rest.

Finally, using heat on any muscle, tendon or ligament injury during the first 72 hours is a bad mistake. It will increase swelling & make the injury worse. After the initial three-day period heat may be used.

Folic Acid can be used to speed up recovery of most injuries.
Peanut Butter is good for most strains & sprains & aids a faster recovery.