Long Island Medical Care Services
Sprains & Strains |
| Pain and fear are what brings a patient into the office with these injuries.However, the usual reasonable question is ; "Did I break the bone?" Unfortunately , unless the body part is unusually deformed or unable to perform the usual range of motion, there is no way that a patient could accurately diagnose that there is a fracture. The fact that the extremity moves does not rule out a fracture. So, yes it is wise to bring the patient into the office for evaluation and possible x-rays, if there is any question about the injury. |
| A sprain is when the ligament of the joint gets injured. Ligaments join bones together at the joint. When there is a sprain the ligament gets torn or stretched. The severity of the sprain is directly related to how much of the ligament is torn. My approach is to initially treat these injuries with ice packs, applied 10 to 15 minutes every few hours, elevation and rest of the extremity, and anti-inflammatory medication like Advil on a regular basis. For a simple sprain I usually judge that an extremity should be significantly better within 3 to 5 days . Complete functioning of the joint should occur within 1 to 11/2 weeks. The longer the delay in recovery ,i.e. continued pain and swelling, the more clinically significant the injury. |
| A strain is when the muscle is injured i.e. the muscle fibers or tendon has been stretched or torn.How severe the injury depends upon how much of the fiber has been torn. Treatment is with wet heat, 10 min every 2 to 3 hours. (Try applying a wet towel, dry towel and then a heating pad.) I usually prescribe a muscle relaxant and an anti-inflammatory medication. A simple strain should be better within 3 to 5 days. Sometimes a strain that seemed rather benign when it first occurred will get worse within 3 to 5 days. Good examples of this phenomenon would be a cervical neck strain as in a "whiplash" type injury and rib injuries. |