PEACE and LOVE

Acute Injury Advice

We’ve seen some acute injuries in the clinic this week.

You know the ones that need some A & E attention, often an x-ray but ultimately the ones where you get sent home with nothing more than ‘information’. This is all good in that you don’t have a serious injury, BUT, if you are still struggling to do your sport or you are hobbling around, often you need some more in depth advice.

Sadly we’ve seen some mis-information been given SO to set the records straight here are the latest evidence based guidelines:

PEACE and LOVE

Think first 72 hours it’s all about PEACE After 72 hours it’s all about LOVE

PEACE

P – Protect Yourself
If you are struggling maybe it’s worth getting on crutches till things settle down.

E – Elevation
This needs to be good quality. So injured limbs above your heart.
If it’s lower limb the easiest way to get good quality elevation is to put 2 pillows under your mattress overnight so your drainage can be optimised for a long period of time.

A – Avoid Anti Inflammatories
This is where I see the most misplaced guidance from healthcare professionals. Evidence has been around for a while now that these may delay tissue healing in the early stages of recovery.

C – Compression
Get some good quality compression on the injured limb.

E – Education
Seek advice and support about the next phases of recovery. This can often help with the panic of an acute injury.

LOVE

So from the end of day three your body is likely to be giving you some signs that you can begin the next phase.

L – Load and Listen
You can increase the weight bearing through the limb.
Listen to how your body is responding before working out if you can up the ante.

O – Optimism
Stay positive – this literally has been proven to help.
It’s easy now to be in the mindset of ‘feeling miles away from your previous activities’ but you will get there and staying positive will help you see it’s a journey.

V – Vacularisation, Get the Blood Flowing to the Area
Choose pain free CV activities to increase blood flow and help promote tissue healing.

E – Exercise and Early Mobilisation
Restore mobility, coordination and strength.
If you need guidance on how to do this just reach out to a good healthcare professional.

Know when to escalate:

Call your GP, 111 or attend your local A & E department if:

• You have a deformity
• Severe swelling
• Severe pain
• Inability to weight bear

Photograph’s credited to Jess Fay Photography