Common methods for preventing and treating sports injuries do not include

In the acute stage of injury, apply hot compresses and rub the affected area, take self-administered analgesics for a long time and exercise with the injury, blindly copy other people’s rehabilitation training programs, and completely immobilize and recuperate for a long time after the injury.

Last week at the community gym, I saw a young man wearing a high school uniform. He jumped up to grab a rebound and landed on his ankle. The teammates next to him were so enthusiastic that they stretched out their hands to rub his ankle, and then found a warm baby and put it on his ankle. The young man was still in pain when I stopped him. He grinned and said, "It's okay, it's okay. Just rub it open and it'll be fine." However, the next day, his father took him to the orthopedics department. His ankle, which was as swollen as a steamed bun, was taken for a X-ray. Originally, it was just a slight soft tissue contusion, but a local hematoma was created by rubbing it. It took him half a month to recover before he could get off the ground. In the past two years, there has been debate in the sports medicine community about whether to apply ice during the acute phase (usually within 72 hours after injury). Some studies believe that low temperature will inhibit local blood circulation and prolong the recovery period. Some clinicians insist that ice application can quickly relieve swelling and pain and is suitable for emergency treatment of acute injuries. However, the two sides have been quarreling. No one has ever recommended hot compresses and hand kneading in the acute phase. This operation is to complicate the damaged capillaries. The more you rub, the more bleeding and the more severe the swelling.

After talking about the most common pitfalls in the acute stage, let’s talk about the invisible minefields that many people don’t take seriously after being injured. A runner I met while running a marathon two years ago suffered from patellar tendonitis and was so painful that he trembled when going up and down the stairs. He bought analgesics and carried them in his pocket. He took one before each run and said, "It hurts when I don't move, but it doesn't hurt anymore when I run." In the end, the pain was so bad that I couldn't walk and went to get an MRI. The tendon was partially torn. It took less than half a year for surgery and recovery to return to the track. It should be noted that clinicians sometimes prescribe analgesics for a short period of time during the recovery period in order to help patients overcome pain, complete necessary range of motion training, and avoid joint adhesion. However, this is completely different from concealing body signals and relying on analgesics to carry out exercises. Pain itself is an alarm sent by the body. If you press the alarm and continue to create, it will be strange if nothing happens.

Compared to ruthless people who carry on to the end, there is another type of people who especially like to take shortcuts, but instead step on another pitfall. A while ago, a fan sent me a private message and said that he had lumbar protrusion after watching others practice Xiaoyanfei on the Internet. After practicing for half a month, he was in so much pain that he couldn't even get out of bed. When I asked, I found out that he had a type with excessive lumbar lordosis. The original curvature of the lumbar spine was wrong. If he continued to practice Xiaoyanfei, it would put extra pressure on the lumbar spine. It would be weird if it didn't hurt. For the same knee pain, the rehabilitation actions for patellofemoral joint disorders and meniscal injuries are far different. For the same sprained foot, the treatment methods for ligament strain and avulsion fracture are even more different. Even for the same person and the same injury, the training program in the acute phase and recovery phase must be adjusted accordingly. Is there any one-size-fits-all rehabilitation template? Don't just copy the homework when you see others using it. Your body is different from others.

There is another widely circulated misunderstanding that has even delayed the recovery progress of many people, that is, "you have to lie down completely for a hundred days to recuperate from a broken muscle." A colleague once stepped downstairs and sprained his foot. The doctor said it was just a slight ligament strain, so he was asked to slowly move his ankle every two days. He was fine. He used crutches for a month without even daring to touch his foot. Eventually, the swelling disappeared. His ankle was as stiff as if he had rubbed 502 on it, and he did not dare to bend when going down the stairs. Later, he went to the rehabilitation department and it took him almost half a month to return to normal range of motion. Of course, this does not mean that all injuries cannot be healed. If the ligament is completely broken or the fracture is comminuted, the short-term immobilization required by the doctor must be followed. However, as long as the acute stage is passed and the doctor allows movement, appropriate force and movement can promote tissue repair. Lying for too long will cause muscle atrophy and joint adhesion, and it will take more time to recover.

To put it bluntly, there is no universal formula for the prevention and treatment of sports injuries. Everyone's physical condition and injury situation are different. When you are not sure, it is much more reliable to consult a professional sports medicine department or rehabilitation department than to guess and try out folk remedies on your own. After all, the purpose of exercise is to make the body more comfortable. Don’t let yourself suffer unnecessary sins because of wrong operations.