5 Effective ways for healing from any chronic injury

Many clients ask me what they can do to recover from an injury or muscle pain. A combination of at-home therapies and some help from a professional can lessen the duration of the injury.

At-home care consists of resting, icing, compression and elevation. If you find that at-home care was helpful at first, but after two weeks you have still not healed, I advise that you seek a professional’s care and and/or insight.

I often work with people who are interested in resolving a muscular injury, whether it’s recent or chronic. It typically takes more than one session for the injury to heal, but lots of positive change can occur during that single session. Often, this positive change continues for hours as your body creates the chemicals to clean and replace the old muscular waste.

Here are 5 At-Home Tips to help you stabilize and overcome a muscle injury.

  1. Ice within 24 hours from initial injury. Ice can be your best tool for reducing inflammation. Be sure to place a thin fabric barrier between your skin and the ice, (prevents frost bite) and apply ice as often as you can (15 minutes on the affected area, 30 minutes off, repeated 2-3 times throughout the day). Do this for 2-3 days. Elevate, especially feet/ankles. Some people use a topical analgesic or homeopathic gel. These work well on strains, sprains and bruises, but should not be used on open wounds.
  2. Support the injury with compression. Compression in the form of an elastic bandage or properly applied sports tape can support the injured area and keep swelling/ edema at a minimum.
  3. Get an appointment with a professional healthcare practitioner, whether a massage therapist or someone else, as you can. Massaging the affected area can be a simple and specific choice for your injury. Self-massage, for example, on an ankle, foot, or calf can do two things: reduce swelling at the site of injury, and help you determine your pain level. If your injury is acute, working above and below the affected area can assist blood flow and lymphatic drainage. The movement of fluids will replace old metabolic waste with new healing chemicals. If chronic pain remains for a while (a few weeks), deep tissue massage can help facilitate improvement.
    Massaging the rest of the body, or at least proximal to the injured area, will help keep compensatory muscles from getting too tight and causing more pains.
  4. Mild stretching improves flexibility and range of motion. It is important to do this gently to promote healing. Improving your flexibility is integral to getting back on your feet. The more motivated you are to return to activities you enjoy, the faster you will heal by doing the required homework. Keep in mind that strenuous activities can be counterproductive. Try a little each day and give yourself time to heal. Unless you are on a training schedule for an event, then you may want to work with your therapist more often, or work in conjunction with a chiropractic physician.
  5. Rest, and take your activity at a slower pace. If you have been injured for awhile, it’s OK that you haven’t been able to lift weights, hike, run, etc. Remember to give yourself time to ease back into the activities you love, and don’t expect to “pick up right from where you left off.” Remember also that injuries are the body’s way of saying, “Take it easy.” Once you’ve worked through an injured state, remember to listen to your body’s whispers before it decides to scream again.

The first reaction to an injury is to stop the activity that caused it, and sometimes never to go back to it. If you love the activity that you temporarily had to give up, hopefully you’ll improve to the point where you can jump back in, return to your previous state, and eventually enjoy even greater performance.

Remember the old adage: Life is short! Stay active, and do the things that truly add to your quality of life.

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The massages performed by Sheila Custer as a member of the AMTA American Massage Therapy Association, are in accordance with the Oregon Board of Massage Therapists. License #5372.