R.I.C.E. ~ You Want Me to Do What With That?

Hardly a day goes by in my practice that we are not recommending RICE for an injury. Okay, maybe not the sticky grainy stuff, it is actually a mnemonic for a treatment protocol for injuries. If you or someone you know has an injury it is important to act quickly to help the body to restore normal function as quickly as possible.

When an injury occurs there are specific stages of healing that must take place. You cannot supersede these to get faster results, so our best offense is to enhance the healing stages. Lets look at what R.I.C.E. stands for.

1. R = Rest it
2. I  = Ice it
3. C = Compress it
4. E = Elevate it

There you have the recipe for treating any injury, of the joints, mainly.  We will look at this in a bit more detail below.

First you want to examine the area and decide if you think this injury needs medical attention, ie. x-ray, stitches etc. We will use an ankle injury since it is the most common.

Help the "patient" to relax and calm down is the first thing to do.  Take a look at the area, look for any broken skin or bones, bleeding,  swellings etc. Once you are confident that you don't need further medical attention we precede to R.I.C.E.

R = Rest it. It is a must to take pressure off of the joint(s) so that the stress is decreased to the area.  This is important even in minor sprain/strains where it is painful for a few minutes then you "walk it off".  Without the proper care that minor injury can become a chronic weakness and contribute to re-injury. So take a 15 minute break from the action and use the next step while you are resting.

I = Ice it. Ice is imperative to reduce the excess swelling. It is the bodies natural response to swell at the injury site.  I often get asked ice or heat which is better? If the injury is acute, happened suddenly, use Ice first. If you overuse a muscle, such as in gardening or exercise heat is generally a good idea.  Remember this, ice moves fluid or swelling away from the injury site, and heat will bring fluid to it.  Use ice for 15 minutes on, then take off for 15 min. It is a good idea to have a cloth between the skin and the ice. Repeat this process 3 times with an acute injury. Continue this process 2 times per day for 2 days.  Then you can alternate heat first then ice for 2 days.

C = Compress it!  By compressing the area early, the swelling will be contained and decreased.  Some will recommend an ace type bandage, but my favorite is veterinary wrap.  It looks like an ace type bandage but is sticky, so you can keep it where you want it.  The key to compressing an injured area, is to not wrap it too tight.  The vet wrap allows you to adjust and re-tape easily.  Always start wrapping from the furthest point from the heart to the closest.  This will ensure that you are moving the fluids in the right direction.  You can also apply ice over the wrap too.

E = Elevate it. This is self explanatory for the most part, yet what most people don't realize is you want to elevate the body part(when applicable) to a height that is above heart level. This might mean lying down and raising your leg above your heart. This will ensure that the swelling begins to drain away from the injury site.  Maintain this position for about 15 minutes, bring it down for 15 min. and return it 3 times.

There you have it, now you know how to RICE an injury.  If you have any questions I invite you to leave a comment and I will address it.

"You never have trouble if you are prepared for it" ~ Theodore Roosevelt