Stretching of ligaments is a very common type of injury, which often occurs when the turn, fall, and sharp load on the joint is unsuccessful. Most often, sprains of the ankle and hand are encountered, more rarely - the shoulder and elbow joints.
What should I do when I stretch the ligaments?
The first thing to do when you have a sprain is to apply a cold compress to the injury site. It will help reduce pain and prevent the development of edema. The most effective such compresses in the first three hours after the injury, and then it is required to impose a fixative bandage.
If the injury is obtained under conditions where it is not possible to compress, it is necessary to immobilize the injured joint immediately by applying a tight bandage (usually a flexible bandage is used for this purpose).
Warm compresses and warming ointments when stretching ligaments can not be used, it will only increase puffiness and aggravate the condition.
When stretching the ligaments of the leg, you need to make it so that the leg, while at rest, should be slightly raised. To do this, you need to put a pillow or a roller under it. This situation will help reduce swelling.
How to treat sprain?
First of all, the treatment consists in the complete absence of loads and ensuring the rest of the damaged limb.
It is important to use local anesthetic and anti-inflammatory drugs, such as:
- Diclofenac;
- Voltaren ;
- Menovazine;
- Troxevasin;
- Traumeel;
- Apizarthron;
- Diklobene and others.
It is often necessary to take painkillers and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in tablets. This is important for the removal of pain in the first few days after injury.
In addition, a fairly common phenomenon with sprains is a local increase in temperature at the site of injury, but it is stopped by common measures (compresses, cooling ointments), so there is no need to do anything specifically to eliminate this symptom. A general increase in temperature during stretching does not usually occur.