Hello and welcome to Augusts third blog – Fracture Aftercare – The Beginners Guide to Common Injuries. I hope that you are all having a great summer full of fun and activity.
What if you’ve got a bit of an injury going on though? Is it a simple injury or something else? Read on…
Firstly, When to Get Help
Sometimes you know when you have done something like twisting your ankle and think you just need to rest it to get better, but you’ve been resting it and it isn’t getting better. It’s getting worse. That is the point you visit the doctor for a further opinion, because if any injury or pain gets worse, something more could be going on, like a fracture.
Talking of fractures, how do you care for those at home?
Fracture Aftercare
Firstly, you will have already visited A&E or the fracture clinic and either received a cast or a support, depending on where the fracture or break is.
The most important thing is to look after the rest of your body, especially the joints closest to the break. For example, if you have fractured any part of your arm, it is important to ensure your shoulder is properly mobilised on a regular basis to prevent issued occurring there. If you have fractured your leg, then ensuring your hip has mobilisation along with your sacroiliac joint, to ensure continuing function and health.
Mobilisation of said joints can be as simple as a few rotations on a daily basis, as well as continuing your normal exercise routine with modifications to protect the healing area.
Are you wearing a cast?
If you’re not wearing a cast, then gentle self-massage after a few weeks can go a long way to helping the muscle, tendons and ligaments recover and start behaving in a more normal manner ready for when you have full use back. Hit the ground running, as it were.
If you’re not sure what to do and when, why not book in for a sports massage at about week 3 of your recovery, and we can discuss your rehabilitation programme and get you back to normal as quickly as possible. I broke my elbow in September of 2019, and was back to work with no modifications or reduction of load at the six week mark. Which is unusual, I am told, but I had the bonus of knowing what to do and when, to aid quick recovery. The first tip I can give you, that most people over look, is that the body needs an extra few hundred calories to knit that break, from a combination of resting as well as eating more.
Alongside Sports Massage, I still offer Personal Training for you, tailored to your injury recovery and movement needs. Contact me on [email protected] to find out more.
See you soon!
Chloe