PRICE Technique and Sports Injuries

Athletic events are always exciting and inspiring. Professional athletes push their bodies to the limit and consistently perform virtually superhuman feats of athleticism. Because of this, large-scale tournaments also inevitably involve some amount of injury.

The PRICE technique is widely recognized as the standard of treatment and should be applied immediately to all acute sport injuries, whether sustained at the China Open or in your backyard. The most critical window of time for treating acute sport injuries is within the first 48 hours. When soft tissue damage occurs – e.g., sprains, strains, pulled muscles, tears, ruptured blood vessels, etc. – the site of the injury begins to swell. Thus, every effort should be made within those first 48 hours to control excessive bleeding, minimize injury and speed up recovery.

What is the PRICE technique?

The PRICE technique takes you through the steps of doing everything required to prevent further injury to the damaged site immediately after the injury occurs. If applied correctly and in a timely manner, the PRICE technique can effectively prevent further injury and significantly reduce recovery time. PRICE stands for:

• P-Protection
• R-Rest
• I-Ice
• C-Compression
• E-Elevation

Each component works to help minimize injury, limit swelling and decrease pain.

PROTECTION: When a sports injury occurs, stop playing/exercising immediately to protect the injured part from further damage. Avoid putting weight on the injured part. Ask for help to move yourself to a safe area off the field/court.

REST: Rest is essential to preventing further injury to muscles, tendons, ligaments and other tissues. Additionally, rest is a critical part of effective healing. Rest is the first course of action for dealing with any sports injury. It does not only refer to resting for a prolonged period of time following the injury; it also means immediately taking a break from sport activities in general. An athlete must know when to stop training because repetitive minor injuries can commonly result in a large-scale injury that could have been prevented by adequate rest and treatment.

ICE: When icing an injury, use a cold pack, crushed ice or a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a thin towel to apply “cold” to the injured area. An ice massage is another extremely effective way to bring coldness to the injured tissue.

Coldness provides short-term pain relief and also limits swelling by reducing blood flow to the injured area. When icing an injury, never apply ice directly to the skin (unless it is not stationary, as in an ice massage), and never leave ice on an injury for more than 20 minutes at a time. Longer exposure can damage your skin and even result in frostbite. A good rule is to apply cold for 15 minutes and then leave the ice off long enough for the skin to warm up again.

Cold applications work in the following ways:

1. Decreases the amount of bleeding by cold-induced vasoconstriction (constricted blood vessels) at site of injury
2. Decreases pain
3. Relaxes muscle spasms
4. Reduces the risk of cell death by decreasing the rate of metabolism

COMPRESSION: Applying compression to injuries prevents excessive swelling and should be applied for about 24-48 hours after the occurrence of injury. Compression of the limb works to increase the pressure within the tissue thus decreases blood flow. This slows down the inflammatory process and prevents excessive fluid from building up inside the joint.

Compression can be applied by a number of means and helps limit and reduce any swelling that may delay healing. Some people also experience pain relief from compression. An easy way to compress the area of the injury is to wrap an ACE bandage around the swollen part. If you feel a throbbing sensation or if the wrap just feels too tight, remove the bandage and re-wrap the area with the bandage a little looser.

The most effective compression is achieved by a compression bandage, which is an elastic tube-like bandage that simply fits around the affected limb. The advantages of the compression bandage are that it is easy to put on and the elastic provides sufficient pressure to stop bleeding in the area.

Compression can also be applied with the ice-pack itself (a cold compress). You can either compress manually or wrap the ice pack in a bandage.

ELEVATION: Elevation of the injured limb allows gravity to draw the fluid away from the injured site. This helps decrease the swelling and the pain associated with swelling. Elevation is most effective when the injured area is raised above the level of the heart. In lower limb injuries, try and keep the injured area above the level of the hip. Upper limb injuries can be elevated by use of a pillow or sling. The injured limb should be elevated for as long as possible throughout the day for the first 48 hours.

After a day or two of treatment, many sprains, strains or other injuries will begin to heal. But if your pain or swelling does not decrease after 48 hours, make an appointment to see your doctor or go to the Emergency Room, depending upon the severity of your symptoms.

References:

Ankle sprains: How to speed Your Recovery. American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, 2008.

Safe Exercise: First Aid Guidelines, American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, October 2007