[EMAIL PROTECTED] on 08/01/2000 09:25:40 AM
I will repeat: I am ASTOUNDED at the cleverness of many of the
readers of this list.
...
> Lastly, a question for Dr. Powell himself, since he is a doctor.
...
b) Get the foot examined by a Real Doctor ASAP.
Long Story:
About 2 years ago I decided to cut down a large tree in the back
of our yard. Actually, Monica decided that I would cut down the
tree, and threatened to toss the comfy chair, with me in it, unless
it was done. I spent about 1 hour starting a chain saw, and my arm
started to hurt. A lot. I am talking major pain here.
So I turned on the Hot Tub (this is California), and took a nice
HOT soak for about 15 minutes.
...
Apparently I had ripped a muscle, but the rip was inside a sheath of
connective tissue.
...
Of course, putting the arm in HOT water caused the muscle to swell
even more.
And increased the chances of permanent damage.
...
See a REAL DOCTOR ASAP!!
================================================
I've been involved in athletic first aid for a long time (even had some formal
training in it :-), and what
you speak of I know as "compartment syndrome". If a muscle which is inside a
sheath is severely
damaged, it swells to the point where there is no longer any blood flow to the
muscle (because it is
constrained by the sheath). In soccer, shin contact is the more common one, but
I've heard of people
inducing compartment syndrome by putting sore things into hot water.
The following is not meant to be medical advice. It is just a guide to things I
follow in the context of
injuries sustained in contact sports (in my case, soccer).
The body reacts to heat by pumping even more blood into the area, which is
exactly opposite of what
you want. The recipe to remember is RICE - Rest Ice Compression Elevation.
Rest - Quit doing whatever it was that got you injured in the first place.
Ice - Get some ice on the area (wrapped in a towel possibly). This cuts down on
blood flow, stops
the nerves from transmitting pain signals, short circuits the spasm
reaction, ... A bunch of good things.
Ice is 20 minutes of every hour, not continuously.
Compression - Put an elastic bandage over area to (slightly) compress things.
Elevation - Elevate with respect to the heart.
If you see a bone sticking out of the skin, don't bother with RICE, get to a
hospital. If you see a gross
change in underlying tissue (i.e., if your Achilles tendon is snapped the back
of your foot look MUCH
different), get to a hospital. If 20 minutes of continuous icing does nothing
to change the pain (it normally
goes cold, then burn, then numb), get to a hospital.
For acute injuries (injury comes from an impact or something else of short
duration), the first 36 hours or so
post trauma should really only see cold application. After that, you might want
to start using heat. But don't
soak hurt things in hot water, they just take longer to heal.
Have a great day,
Gord
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