Peace & Love - Optimum Care of Acute Soft Tissue Injuries

Every day, patients ask "What can I do at home?" We make a point of recommending appropriate ergonomics, therapeutic movement, and corrective exercise to optimize our in-office treatment. But what about those acute injuries?

The most common question is "Do I use ice? Or heat? Which do I choose, and why?" For many years, the answer was based on our best knowledge at the time, and that was RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. This was the wisdom of the day. Later, a "P" for "protection," was added to turn it in to PRICE. After that, POLICE was the recommended protocol: Protection, Optimal Loading, Ice, Compression, Elevation. But it did not cover all bases.

In a 2019 article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Blaise DuBois, and Jean Francois Esculier updated our approach to soft tissue injuries with PEACE and LOVE! This falls right in line with the chiropractic procedures of managing soft tissue injuries we have used for decades.

PROTECTION: Avoid activities and movement that increase pain in the first few days after injury.

ELEVATION: Elevate the injured limb higher than the heart as much as possible.

AVOID ANTI-INFLAMMATORIES: anti-inflammatory medications turn off the healing process. Minimize the use of ice.

COMPRESSION: Reduce swelling using elastic bandages or taping.

EDUCATION: Avoid unnecessary passive treatment, let nature play its role.

LOAD: Let pain guide your gradual return to normal activities. Your body will tell when it is safe to increase load.

OPTIMISM: Condition your brain for optimum recovery by being confident and positive.

VASCULARIZATION: Choose pain-free cardiovascular activities to increase blood flow to repairing tissues.

EXERCISE: Restore mobility, strength, and proprioception by adopting an active approach to recovery.

These are the principles and techniques we have been teaching and using to get amazing results. From managing acute ankle sprains or whiplash, to full rehab of complex injuries we use the best, up to date evidence-based information and techniques.

See our new blog on what comes after the acute care stage, here.

If you have an injury, call soon! Delay of appropriate care can slow recovery.