Have you suffered a sprain, strain, stress fracture, bone break, heat exhaustion, dehydration or some other sports injury? How - and how quickly - you mend depends on the injury, its intensity and your body's ability to heal itself.

During the course of working out, there are many potential injuries you can suffer and each has its own treatment.  This article is being written to help you the next time you find yourself or in the company of someone who has become injured.  Injuries can range from sprains, strains, stress fractures, bone breaks, heat exhaustion, dehydration and so many others.  By no means am I asserting that injuries are a necessary component to fitness, quite the opposite, injuries should be prevented and the saying “no pain, no gain” should be replaced with “work hard and listen to your body.”  Soreness a day or two after a workout is okay, knee injuries or stress fractures are not.

Take your time and read this article to learn and retain as much as you can and if you don’t have the time for that, print it and keep it with you so you are prepared for an emergency.

Muscle Strain or Sprain (Muscle Pull) – Occurs when a muscle is stretched too far.  The time it will take a strain to heal is dependent upon the severity of the injury.  In general follow this protocol:
 
 Rest the area for 1 to 5 days.  There is no need to splint the area.
 Ice the area as soon as possible following the injury and repeat frequently in 15 minute intervals
 Anti inflammatory medications can help but must be prescribed by a physician

Another course of action is RICE:

 Rest for 1 to 5 days
 Ice (never more than 20 minutes as that can damage the tissue)
 Compression for the first two days with an ace bandage
 Elevate by propping the injured area up to heart level if possible

Overuse Injuries are chronic irritations to a body part leading to injury. In this category are carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow and stress fractures.  If you feel pain in a joint from doing a repetitive motion:

 Stop the activity
 Consult physician for anti inflammatory medications
 Ice the injury

Stress fractures occur mainly in the feet and legs where the weight of the body is constantly coming down on these areas and should be treated by:

 Stop putting pressure on the injury
 Use crutches if there is pain when you apply weight
 Ice the area
 If pain persists, seek medical advice
 Wear proper equipment (shoes specific for your activity)
 Begin again gradually

Heat Exhaustion can escalate from mild to severe in just moments so you need to be ready. 

 Move out of sunlight or heated area
 Lay flat and elevate the feet
 Rest quietly
 Hydrate with water or sports drink
 Wet the person down or fan
 Apply a cool wet cloth to the forehead or neck
 Monitor body temperature to ensure it does not go over 104F

Broken bones are not a common fitness/ workout injury but certainly can occur.  If you are not trained in sports related injuries, treat sprains and strains as possible breaks in the event that there is broken or fractured bone.

 Do not allow person to put any weight on the affected area
 Do not move the person yourself – especially if injury to the back or neck are suspected
 Get medical help
 Cold compress may be applied to area while you await further help

Dehydration can occur indoors or out but is more likely if you are exercising in hot temperatures outdoors.  If you are feeling dehydrated,

 Stop your activity and rest
 Get out of the sunlight, preferably into a cool spot
 Prop your feet
 Drink plenty of fluids
 Take off any superfluous clothing
 Rest for up to 24 hours after the dehydration because even though you will feel better within a few hours, your body needs a day to replace the fluids

Heart attacks and strokes have been known to occur while working out.  The best medical advice is get medical help as soon as possible.  Victims of such serious conditions need immediate professional help so call 911 as soon as you think there is a reason.  Better to be safe and have the EMT’s come for nothing than to pay the ultimate price.

This is not an exhaustive list of all that can go wrong but a good start for you to be vigilant about your workouts and for those around you.  Keep calm and stay alert in all situations.

By Christina Leon, Staff Writer