Sports Injury First Aid: Sprain, Strain, Cramp

Sports injuries are injuries that occur to the muscular and skeletal systems of the body during sports due to an accident (accident) or due to an error. Injuries during sports usually occur due to excessive exercise routines, lack of warm-up, or because of high stress levels. The most common sports injuries are:   sprain   and/or   strains   (sprains and/or sprains), and   cramps   (cramps).

What's that   sprain   and/or   strains ?

Sprains   and/or   strains   There are two types of soft tissue damage or injury. Translated into Indonesian, these two terms are translated as one and the same word, namely 'sprain' and/or 'sprain'. However, both actually have different definitions.   Sprains   is an injury to the joint that involves tearing of the ligaments and joint capsule. Whereas   strains   is a muscle or tendon injury.

What are the symptoms   sprain   and/or   strains?

The symptoms of the two are almost the same, but there are slight differences. Here are the symptoms   sprain   and   strains

  • Joint pain
  • There is swelling
  • Limited joint movement
  • Bruises around joints (for symptoms   sprains )
  • Makes muscles tense (for symptoms   strains )

How to overcome   sprain   and/or   strains ?

For the first action to overcome both conditions, RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) is needed or in Indonesian it is Rest, Ice Compression, Elevation. In full, how to overcome   sprain   and   strains   is to stop activity, rest the injured limb, apply ice to the injured area for 15 minutes every two hours using a towel between the skin and ice, compression or bandaging the injured area tightly, leading from the bottom up, and elevation (lifting) injured limb so that it is higher than the level of the heart.

What's that   cramps ?

Cramps   or cramps can occur as a result of one of the muscles experiencing an involuntary contraction or uncontrolled contraction. This condition is known as term   spasms , when this happens strong enough and is sustained, the risk of cramps increases. When cramps strike, the muscles will be visible or palpable, feel hard, and painful.

What are the symptoms   cramps   (cramps)?

Here are some symptoms of cramps:

  • Sudden pain
  • Feel the muscles harden
  • Muscles look swollen
  • Hard to stretch muscles

How to overcome   cramps   (cramps)?

There are several ways to deal with sudden cramps that occur. When a muscle cramps, immediately stretch ( stretching ) that part of the muscle. Leg cramps can be treated by choosing the right position, for example lying down while straightening your legs.

After that, ask a friend to pull the soles of the feet towards the head. Cramps can also occur in the hands, for example due to too much writing or pressing the hands. This condition can be overcome by relaxing the muscles of the hand, one of which is by pressing the hand gently against the wall with the fingers facing down.

You can also soak or compress the cramped parts with warm water, and consume water to treat dehydration. Massage towards the heart on the muscle that is experiencing cramps to help the relaxation process.

That's the meaning, symptoms, and how to treat (first aid)   sprain ,   strains , and   cramps . If you have done first aid but have not recovered, immediately go to the doctor to get treatment immediately.

Article reviewed by   dr. Anita Suryani, Sp. KO   (Specialist in Sports Medicine at EMC Sentul Hospital).