Because every injury is unique, our orthopedic surgeons in Jacksonville always recommend that you come in for any sports-related injury; however, there is a typical process you are likely to encounter as we work to heal your body.

Protection

The healing process almost always begins by protecting your injured tissues from sustaining any further injury. Small injuries may be handled by applying bandages, elastic wraps, simple splints, or other motion limiting coverings. Bigger injuries may need specialized braces, precise splints, or casts.

Rest

Although it’s tempting to stay active, your injured tissues need time to heal. You must rest them to give them the ability to heal. Talk with your doctor about what activities you can do while still resting your injury; you may not need to stay totally inactive while you rest a certain muscle group or body part.

Ice

Ice helps to reduce inflammation, swelling, and pain within an injury, which can allow it to heal. Try to apply ice as soon as possible after an injury. Keep your skin protected by placing a thin cloth between it and the ice pack, and only apply the ice in 10 to 15 minute increments. Stop applying ice if your skin becomes numb, red, or blistered.

Compression

Using a simple elastic bandage to compress your healing tissue slightly will help to reduce inflammation and swelling. Remember to keep your bandage snug but not tight so that you can have appropriate blood flow to the area. You may need to loosen your wrap over the first few days after your injury due to increased swelling.

Elevation

Elevating an injury allows you to use the power of gravity to drain fluid away from your injured tissues. It helps to reduce swelling, inflammation, and your overall pain levels. You can often prop your injured body part up on a few pillows to elevate it.

Rehabilitation

As you heal, you will need to go through the rehabilitation process to ensure that you will not aggravate the healing injury or cause a new one. Generally speaking, you will want to give yourself two days of rehab for every day you spent inactive because of your injury. We will help you through your own individual rehab process, but you can expect to start with simple range-of-motion exercises, then slowly move into weight-bearing exercises. Over time, we will add in light resistance training, stretching, and other activities until you are back to 100 percent.