Tips for Caring for Soft Tissue Injuries

Soft tissue injuries are some of the most common injuries people experience. While you are discussing or pursuing your injury claim with one of our Atlanta personal injury lawyers, you should also give attention to your body and do what you can to help it heal.

 See Your Doctor

Before you do anything to try to treat your soft tissue injury, you need to go see your doctor. They can help to determine the extent of your injury and the best course of treatment to ensure that you heal. Our Atlanta accident lawyers encourage you to follow your doctor’s recommendations as closely as possible.

The RICE Method

If your injury is not very severe, your doctor may recommend that you use the RICE method:

  • Rest to avoid further damage and to limit pain.
  • Ice the area 20 to 30 minutes every two or three hours to reduce swelling and inflammation.
  • Compress the area to support it and minimize swelling.
  • Elevate the area above your heart to further reduce swelling.

This basic care strategy can help you to heal a mild soft tissue injury.

Physical Therapy

Your doctor may recommend that you look into physical therapy in order to help heal your injury, encourage the injured area to regain full range of movement and strengthen the area to discourage future injury from occurring. Your physiotherapist will help determine the best course of action to pursue for your specific injury.

Heat or Ice as Needed

If the pain persists, your doctor may recommend that you heat or ice the area to help reduce the pain. Heat and ice react very differently with the soft tissues, so our Atlanta personal injury lawyers encourage you to only use what your doctor recommends. Heat helps to increase circulation, ease muscle soreness and increase the flexibility of your soft tissues. Ice, on the other hand, reduces swelling and inflammation, and it slows your nerves down so that they cannot feel pain.