The importance of muscle sprains and strains treatment
Many factors influence our health. Traumatic factors in particular may play a vital destructive role in the quality of our life. When the ligament experiences an exceeding load that leads to margin of its safety, joint sprains or strains occur. Before talking about stretching the ligaments, let’s define what they actually are. Ligaments are dense fibers, fibrous tissue, they are composed of proteins – collagen and elastin – and connect parts of the skeleton or internal organs.
When all the fibers of the ligament are damaged, we speak of strains, and when the damage is partial, we speak of muscle sprains. That is, a sprain of a ligament is, in fact, it’s incomplete rupture.
The leading signs of sprains are trauma, often in sports, less often – in the household. Sprain occurs when a sharp and/or non-physiological movement is made in the joint, which is fixed by the ligaments (a sharp turn, “twisting” in the joint). Therefore, strength and active sports (weightlifting, volleyball, football, basketball) are the cause of frequent sprains.
With excessive force of the pathological effect, a sharply stretched ligament can even entail some bone’s part to which it attaches – a so-called avulsion fracture occurs.
How to treat a sprain?
Main strains and sprains symptoms are:
- Sharp pain at the site of the sprain, aggravated by trying to move in the damaged joint and pressing on the damaged ligament.
- Edema of the injured limb, which is localized in the projection of the injured joint and grows rapidly. Also in this zone, redness and an increase in the temperature of the skin can be noted.
- Restriction of movement. The movements are limited by reflex spasm of skeletal muscles in the area of injury, which occurs in order to protect the limb from further dangerous movements. So, while leg sprain, it will be difficult and painful for a person to stand on his leg, in case of injury to the ligaments of the shoulder joint, raise his arm.
- The appearance of a hematoma in the area of stretching.
- The characteristic popping sound that occurs while strains.
Sprain diagnostics is necessary because the symptoms of a sprain are very similar to those of a fracture, so it is easy to confuse them without a special examination.
The symptoms of sprains dictate the tactics of sprain treatment: eliminate pain, reduce swelling and restore mobility. Along with anti-inflammatory, non-steroidal drugs have a good analgesic effect. Depending on the intensity of the pain syndrome, they can be used in the treatment of sprains locally (gels, ointments, creams) or internally (tablets, suppositories, powders, solutions for intramuscular injections).
To reduce swelling, doctors from Advanced Medical Care prescribe treatment for sprained parts of the body which consists of applying ice wrapped in a towel for 10-15 minutes every 3-4 hours. Also, in order to reduce edema in the first days after injury, it is recommended to give the affected limb an elevated position.
In the sprains and strains treatment, an important point is the immobilization of the joint in which the ligaments have been torn. It is achieved by applying a special device that fixes the joint in the anatomically correct position – an orthosis.
