Strains and sprains
Your ligaments and muscles hold your bones together and keep them stable. They are extremely strong bands of tissue that support your body as it moves around. Every walker knows the value of strong muscles and knows the pain of a strain or sprain, caused when the ligament or muscle twists, tears or stretches. This type of injury is often caused by excessive force. This is the type of force that might be exerted when walking or scrambling over rough terrain, twisting to climb over obstacles, colliding with something or falling.
What to do about a common strain or sprain
Even though a sprain is often only a minor injury, you’ll want to treat it as soon as possible so you can get back on those walking trails. Left untreated, you’ll find your injury getting progressively worse until before you know it, that hike up Helvellyn you were planning will begin to look highly unlikely. A strain, where you actually tear or stretch the muscle could take longer to recover from, but can be treated at home with a bit of TLC.
Symptoms of sprains
If you’ve sprained some area of your body, most commonly your thumb, wrist, ankle or knee joints, you’ll experience:
- pain around the affected joint;
- bruising;
- inability to use the joint normally and may be unable to put weight on it;
- tenderness;
- swelling; and
- some localised inflammation.
Symptoms of strains
Depending on how bad your strain is, you might experience:
- pain and swelling in the muscle;
- bruising and possibly a haematoma, where blood collects under the skin;
- muscle spasms; and
- loss of some, or all, of the function in the affected muscle.
What to do
You can treat your strains and sprains at home using ‘PRICE’ therapy. This stands for protection, rest, ice, compression and elevation.
In more detail, the therapy consists of:
- Protection – protect the injury from any further impacts. You could wear a support that you can buy from a good chemist, or if the injury affects your foot area, wear supportive lace-up shoes.
- Rest – rest the joint or muscle for at least the first 48–72 hours and don’t carry out any activity that puts pressure on it. It is recommended that you do carry out light activity using the joint or muscle, as it is widely accepted that it will recover more quickly.
- Ice – apply an ice pack wrapped in a damp tea-towel onto the affected area. Don’t apply directly to your skin.
- Compression – compress the area to reduce swelling and prevent any movements that could cause further damage.
- Elevation – keep the injured area raised to help reduce the swelling.
If, after four days of treatment at home, the pain doesn’t improve, it’s time to see your GP. Of course, if you’re particularly worried about your injury you should see your GP straight away. If you can’t put any weight at all on the injury or it has swollen badly your doctor will be able to advise you. You’ll soon be back on form and out walking if you follow PRICE therapy and listen to your body.