Getting injured is inevitable. It is especially impossible to avoid injuries when you are an athlete or work in a physical field. Every once in a while, during your career, you will sustain some injuries. When the slip and fall injuries are not significant, you may not be prompted to visit a doctor. Injuries tend to be painful, resulting from the swellings and inflammations that will always follow. The inflammations and swellings are always the body’s response to trying to heal. However, you can take remedies to help alleviate the pain, especially in the first few hours. Below is a list of these methods.
Rest
It is recommended that you rest whenever you sustain an injury to initiate the healing process. When you rest, you avoid blood flow to the injured part and experience reduced swelling. Most people are tempted to continue with their normal activities even after an injury. Such is an ill-advised mentality, since you will be exerting pressure on the injured part. As a result, excess fluids will rush to the area, causing more swelling and pain.
Cold Therapy
When you are injured, you need to ensure that the injured part receives as much blood flow as possible to mitigate swelling and pain. By applying something cold, such as ice on the area, you make it numb and restrict the area’s blood flow. However, it would be wise to note that you should avoid direct contact of the injured area with ice. Instead, it would be best if you considered having the ice wrapped up in a piece of cloth. For a more effective outcome, you may need to apply the ice to the injury several times a day for some minutes.
Compression
When injured, your first instinct should be to apply pressure on the part. You may not always be walking around with ice, and you may not have a place to rest immediately. However, applying pressure is something you can do regardless of where you are. If you have bandages, either static, elastic, or a compression device, you may need to use them. However, even when applying compression, try not to be too constrictive, as you may end up doing more harm than good.
Elevation
You need to elevate the injured part above your heart level to reduce blood flow. As such, the swelling is guaranteed to reduce. However, if the injured part cannot be elevated above the heart level, such as the hips, you may need to use a pillow while lying down to facilitate faster healing.
Medication
This goes without saying. You can consider buying over-the-counter drugs that inhibit inflammation of the injured parts. However, you need to ensure that you adhere to the prescribed dosage.
In conclusion, injuries can be pretty painful, and whenever someone gets hurt, they always try to find ways to alleviate the pain. Use the 5 tips mentioned above, so whenever you get injured, you know the right steps to follow.
Author information: Lizzie Weakley is a freelance writer from Columbus, Ohio. In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors and walks in the park with her husky, Snowball.
