Effective early management of Soft Tissue Injuries
When a person has sustained a mild or moderate injuring to a muscle, tendon or ligament, aka a soft tissue injury the best early advice to adopt is the RICE acronym.
RICE stands for:
Its not always necessary to see a GP or a Physiotherapist when you have sustained a mild or moderate soft tissue injury. Sports injuries are responsible for over 50% of musculoskeletal injury, so if RICE is adopted immediately after injury and continued for 24-48 hours it can result in the effective self-management of simple sprains and strains.
Seek medical care if:
- you are unable to put any weight through the area
- the area has an altered sensation i.e. numbness
- the area is misshapen
- suspected broken bones or more serious injury to the soft tissue.
Should symptoms persist after a couple of days consider a self-referral to a Physiotherapist.
Author: Chris Bartlett
Chris is Commercial Director for Rehabplus and has worked in the UK rehabilitation and physiotherapy sector for almost 15 years. He has a master’s degree in Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation. He has held a number of clinical and management positions in both UK and Australia.