Sprains and Bruises
	What are sprains and bruises? A sprain causes pain, swelling and discoloration (blue colouring). This occurs because the small blood vessels and fibres in the flesh burst, causing the blood to enter the surrounding tissue. This in turn results in swelling and the blue colouring. It is the same principle with a bruise: the skin is exposed to such a hard blow that the blood vessels break.  What should I do about a sprain?  If you have a sprain you will also suffer pain. The injured area must be kept still or the bleeding in the tissue will continue more intensely. Rest is important in order to ensure that healing occurs as quickly as possible. This should last at least one or two days as the bleeding can continue for up to 24 hours. If possible, the sprained area should be kept straight - an arm, for example, can be supported in a sling. Try to keep the injured area in the same position while you are sleeping, perhaps by placing a couple of pillows under your sprain. It is important that the injured area is not pointing downwards, otherwise fluid build-up may occur. This prolongs the healing process and causes more pain.  How do I stop the inner bleeding? Since blood enters the tissues when you have a sprain, the main thing is to limit the bleeding. This can be done by cooling. Use the following techniques:  Put ice cubes in a plastic bag then place over the sprained area In an emergency, use frozen vegetables in a bag  Use custom-made cooling-packets, which are bags containing a special jelly that can be chilled in your freezer  In each case wrap the cold bag in a towel before placing it on the sprain. Always put a piece of fabric between your skin and the coolant, otherwise your skin may get frost-bite.  Stop the cooling if your skin turns white or hard and contact a doctor if the skin does not regain its usual colour after the process has stopped. It is a good idea to cool the skin for 15 minutes, stop for 15 minutes, then cool again, and so on.  Usually the cooling is felt in different ways. This can range from cold to painful, burning and finally numbing. Be careful if you are diabetic. To prevent damage to your blood circulation, do not cool an area without consulting your doctor.  You can also wrap bandages around the damaged area to prevent movement. Most people use a pressure bandage at first, followed by tape when the swelling has disappeared. If you are wearing bandages, it is important to monitor the area surrounding them. If this becomes blue-coloured and the surrounding tissue seems cold, you should remove the bandages and contact a doctor.  When to consult a doctor If the sprain is accompanied by severe pain and severe swelling If one of your joints gives way and is unable to carry your weight If the pain is still present after two days If the sprain has not improved after four days of self-treatment  What should I do to prevent sprains? Work out what caused your accident and focus on the cause:  Running too quickly? Exercising without any warm-up or stretching exercises?  Running, working out or playing sport without the proper shoes?  Running on hard or uneven surfaces?  Are any of your muscles overcompensating for weakness in another - due, for instance, to a bad knee?  Recovering from sprains When the pain and the swelling have gone, start exercising the injured part of the body gently. After one or two days' rest, it is important to start moving again to reduce the amount of scarring formed in the damaged tissue.  As with any activity, warm up slowly and use stretching exercises to begin with. If it's possible to stay physically active without further injuring the sprained area, do so. Keep your other muscles functioning and maintain physical fitness. How to treat bruises Bruises and swellings are caused by under-skin bleeding which, again, is best treated with cooling. To do this, follow the instructions given above for cooling treatment of sprains. If the bruise is very large, repeat the treatment three times. If several bruises surround the large one and you have not had any other accidents, consult your doctor to find out whether your blood is clotting as it should.