An active body is a body that is prone to injury. Repetitive motion of a body part can cause wear and tear. Traumatic injuries also occur in sports. This can be caused by a fall or improper body placement during an activity. For example, a wrong step can cause a sprained ankle.
When a sports injury occurs, it’s important to put a proper pain management plan into place. Because you never known when you’re going to receive a sports injury, it’s important to have this pain management plan in place just in case.
Immediate Pain Management
Depending upon the severity of the pain that you experience from a sports injury, you may seek out instant relief immediately. Over the counter pain relievers like Acetaminophen (paracetemol), Ibuprofen, or naproxen sodium may help if the pain is not severe. It’s important to remember that Acetaminophen will not reduce swelling because it doesn’t work as an anti-inflammatory. To help reduce swelling, you’ll want to ice the injured area. You may also want to consider compression therapy, such as wrapping the injury in a bandage or a support brace purchased at your local drugstore.
Knowing When to Seek Medical Attention
While the most common sports injuries tend to be minor, major injuries can occur. Minor injuries can also become aggravated and develop into major injuries if they are not treated properly. Because of these reasons, you need to be aware of the signs of a major injury.
Signs of a Major Injury
When evaluating a sports injury, look for serious bleeding or swelling. Consider how the injury happened and what area of the body is affected. Consider the appearance of the injured body part. Does it look abnormal? Try to describe the pain. Is it sharp, dull, aching, or throbbing?
If you’re experiencing any pain in the head, neck, back, or abdomen, you need to seek medical attention. If there is excessive bleeding or swelling, you need to seek medical attention. If the injured body part looks abnormal, seek medical attention. If the pain is sharp and continuous, you may want to seek medical attention. Seeking medical attention may be costly, but it will save you time, money, and prevent further pain down the road. When you get to the point where you need to buy serious pain relief such as opiate medicines like codeine and dihydrocodeine, then the time has come to talk to your doctor about pain management.
Discuss Pain Management With Your Healthcare Provider
If your injury is minor, then a healthcare provider can assist you with a pain management plan that isn’t invasive and allows you to return to normal activity as soon as possible. If you’ve suffered a serious sport injury, discuss the available options with your healthcare provider. You need to be in charge of the decisions made in your pain management. If you don’t like the direction in which your healthcare provider is leaning, get another opinion. It’s your body. Choose a pain management plan that you feel comfortable with.
Don’t Walk Off a Sports Injury
How many times has an athlete been told to simply “walk it off”? That’s bad advice. You need to evaluate and respond to sports injuries with a planned pain management plan to prevent further injury.