R-I-C-E

     Rice is an acronym for Rest-Ice-Compression-Elevation. This past week I got a valuable lesson on injuries, which come easier, and are often more severe as we get older. I was walking my dog along a slight incline. Seeing a squirrel he jerked his lease and threw me off balance. All it took was a simple twist of my ankle and I was on the ground holding my ankle, cursing fate and fending off my dog as he licked my face.
Over the last year I've had many bumps, bruises and injuries. I pulled my hamstring, hyper-extended my knee, pulled a muscle in my back, and got tennis elbow from throwing punches in my Kick-Boxing class. The good news is that most of these injuries were in the first few months of my health plan. As I've improved my health I've almost elliminated any injuries. The twisted ankle was the first in 4 months.


    This latest injury to my ankle was a valuable lesson in how as we age are bodies aren't what they used to be. Looking back on my childhood I remember jumping 10 feet out of trees, falling off my bike at 25 miles-per-hour and getting hit in the head with a baseball. Each time I walked away with only minor injuries. As we age our bodies begin to change. We lose muscle mass, our bones become less dense, our joints wear out, and our muscles become less flexible. We also sometimes deal with diseases such as arthritis.


     The good news is that if we continue to be active, eat right and take care of our bodies we can minimize injuries and their severity. When I first felt my ankle twist, I thought it was broken. As I hobbled home in pain with a rapidly swelling ankle I started planning at worst a trip to the emergency room, and at best being incapacitated for a few weeks or more.

   
     Arriving home and remembering the acronym Rice-I immediately began treatment. It should be noted that at this time I couldn't put any weight on my foot, the ankle continued to swell and I was using a broom handle to get around. When you have any type of sprain you need to get the affected area elevated,  preferably above the level of your heart. You then want to apply ice to the affected area. The key to start the healing process is to reduce the swelling. The ice restricts blood-flow, slows the swelling and speeds up the healing process. As a note of caution. Only keep the ice on for a maximum of 20 minutes to avoid damaging your skin. Next thing I did was begin to rest my ankle. As the swelling continued to lessen I wrapped my ankle in an elastic wrap for support and to reduce the swelling.


The good news is that I missed only one day of walking the dog and four days of heavy exercise. Within a week I was back to my old self. I think the key to my rapid recovery was not only the quick use of first aid, but the fact that I have a health program in place. The healthier you are, which includes eating right, keeping active and building muscle helps the healing process. I also feel that a positive attitude, and feeling good about ourselves are very important factors in the healing process.