If you're an athlete or someone who is into different kinds of sports or physical activities, you're probably familiar with sprains and muscle strain? These two conditions are common in people who overexert themselves in athletic activities like running and swimming.

When one has a muscle strain is an injury in the muscle or tendon brought about by overexertion. A lot of people refer to it as a pulled muscle. Sprains, on the other hand, are different because it affects the ligaments that hold our joints together. The latter is more dangerous because in severe cases, it may take some time before the person can bear weight on the injured joint again.

For veteran athletes and sports buff, having a pulled muscle or a sprain can be quite common. It does, after all, come with the turf. Along with their training comes basic knowledge of what to do in case they experience a sprain or a muscle strain. Here is the most basic thing they teach as first aid for sprains and pulled muscles – follow the R.I.C.E. mnemonic.

R – Rest the injured part. Resting the affected area helps prevent further damage to the injured muscle or ligament. Also, by resting, you conserve energy your body will need to heal the injury more effectively.

I – Ice the affected area. You can use a bag of frozen peas, ice bags, or cold packs to apply cold to the injured body part. The cold with temporarily numb the pain. But more than that, it can also limit inflammation and decrease blood flow to the affected part.

C – Compress the injured portion. Compressing the strained or sprained area helps reduce swelling. For some people, compressing a strained extremity helps lessen the pain. The easiest way to compress the injured area is to wrap it with bandage with just the right amount of tightness.

E – Elevate the affected body part. Ideally, doctors would advise that you raise the injured body part above the level of the heart. This is to promote better blood circulation and, again, faster healing.

Most people are able to get back to using the injured body part after a day or two of repeated R.I.C.E. therapy. But there are cases wherein people are still in severe pain. For those case, consulting a doctor for pain relievers like Soma can help make the discomfort more tolerable. But it is important to remember that pain relievers are not a long-lasting solution to the problem. Working on making the injured body part usable again will be something you need to work on.

Mark Walters is a part-time writer and a part-time researcher. He is currently self-studying various Far Eastern languages and is an avid fiction reader. He is currently writing articles oriented towards consumers of pharmaceutical products. InternetPharmacy is a reputable online drug store and offers an array of health products and medicare prescription drugs.

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Source: http://www.guidemegreen.com/articles/article-detail.html?aID=2347