You got injured. It probably makes you a little irritated that you have to sit out some games, or stop training for a period of time. The one thing that you need to do right now is stop thinking about the negative. Being down about the injury itself or what you could have done. Positive thoughts are one of the most important things to recovery, not matter what you are going through. You have to take time to heal, but if it persists for about 10 days after proper rest – go see a doctor if you have not already.
Ice Most injuries will swell, though not all. Icing will help to keep the inflammation down. Keep your icing to about 20 minutes long and then repeat a couple times a day. Most doctors cannot do anything when the area is swollen and will need to see you again once the swelling has gone down if the injury is serious enough.
Heat Time has passed and the injury is still causing you pain. Keep the ice in the freezer and pull out the heating pad. This will up the blood flow to the injured area and hopefully speed up the healing.
Stretch Once the pain has completely gone, you will want to ease your way back into activity. Stretching is one of the best ways to do so. You will test the area with its range of motion by stretching and see where the stiffness is. Stretching several times a day is recommended to work the area out.
Tape Helping the area while easing your way back into activity with stretching is fantastic, but once you start really working it out you may want to consider having the area taped. This will help with swelling and keeping the pressure off of overused muscles. It may not be what works, but it can’t hurt to try.
When you are able to really get back into working out and playing sports again – you may consider cross-training to help build up other muscles to help keep you strong all over. This will reduce the strain on the specific areas you use consistently for the activities you participate in. It never hurts to try something new!
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