Muscular and joint pain can affect anyone, at any age. These pains may be caused by exercise, injury, rheumatism or just wear and tear on the body. Muscular and joint pain may not be life-threatening, but it has the potential to seriously reduce your quality of life.
A sprain is a stretched or torn ligament - the piece of tissue that connects one bone to another. You can suffer a sprain by changing direction suddenly, or falling and landing awkwardly, or receiving a blow or a bump. Ankles, thumbs and wrists are most commonly affected. Symptoms include inflammation, bruising and pain in the affected area.
A strain is damage to a muscle or a to tendon - the link between a muscle and a bone. You can cause a strain by over-stretching, moving too fast, bending wrongly, or even exercising without warming up and cooling down effectively. In fact strains are the most common sports injuries, accounting for over half of all those reported. Symptoms include pain, swelling and stiffness.
With a mild to moderate sprain or strain, the recipe for treatment for the first two days is RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.
Rest your sprain or strain by moving the joint as little as possible, and avoiding putting weight on it.
Ice cools the injured area and eases the swelling, bruising and pain. Don't apply ice directly to your skin - that could be too cold. Instead, hold a bag of frozen peas or a cold compress pack against the painful area. You can do this for up to 20 minutes in an hour, every couple of hours.
Compress the joint by wrapping it in an elasticated support bandage. The bandage should be wound firmly, but don't pull it too tightly or you'll cut off circulation. If your toes or fingers turn blue, the bandage is too tight!
Elevate the joint by raising and supporting it - it needs to be higher than the level of your heart, especially through the night. With a sprained ankle, you might find it easier to prop your foot on a pillow while you sleep.
After two days, move on to massaging the joint with Transvasin Heat Rub and stretching it gently, while keeping the affected area warm.
Rheumatism is an imprecise term. It can be defined as any of a number of conditions of the muscles, tendons, joints, bones, or nerves, which produce discomfort and disability.
