What should I do if I sprain my foot?

Injuries often occur in life, such as ankle sprains. At this time, many people will think of traditional Chinese medicine to activate blood circulation and remove blood stasis, use hot compresses, or rub the injured area with hands. However, this not only does not speed up recovery, but may cause swelling of the injured area, ecchymosis, and other more serious conditions. Usually, sports injuries are divided into acute phase, remission phase and recovery phase, and treatment should also be carried out in stages.

Acute period: Apply cold compress immediately for 20 minutes

The acute period usually refers to the 24 or 48 hours after the injury. At this time, the injured tissue may bleed, and local redness, swelling, pain, and dysfunction may occur. and other acute inflammatory reactions. The patient should stop activities and choose treatment methods such as cold compress, pressure bandage, and raising the injured limb according to the situation. Generally, cold compress is applied first and then pressure bandage is applied, but it can also be done at the same time.

Cold compresses are generally applied for 20 minutes each time, once every 4 hours; stop using them after 24 or 48 hours. When bandaging, you can place cotton or sponge of appropriate thickness on the injured area, wrap it with a bandage with slight pressure, and always pay attention to the condition of the bandaged area. If the bandage is too loose or too tight, it must be bandaged again. Generally speaking, the pressure bandage can be removed after 24 hours.

If pain occurs after injury, external wound medicines such as Yunnan Baiyao (prepared medicine) can be used to quickly reduce swelling, relieve pain, and reduce acute inflammation. Those with severe pain can take painkillers such as Fenbid; those with severe congestion can take Dieda Pills, Qili San, etc. During this period, you cannot apply heat or massage the injured area, otherwise it will aggravate bleeding and tissue fluid leakage, making the injured area more swollen.

Although the injured area cannot be rubbed, you can press the acupoints along the meridian in the surrounding area to help reduce swelling and relieve pain. For example, if the wrist is injured, swollen and painful, tap Quchi, Neiguan, and Hegu; if the ankle is injured, tap Xuehai and Sanyinjiao.

It doesn’t matter even if the injured person or his family members don’t know the acupuncture points, as long as the positions pressed are roughly correct