Phases of inflammation
- Bleeding - Straight away after the injury, your body’s vascular system will send white blood cells to the area to defend it from bacteria and toxins. Chemicals that pain and fluids produce will flood the area and may continue to do so for another 6 to 8 hours. The pain stops you from putting weight on or moving the injured area. Treatment is to support the injury, protect it and rest it.
- Inflammation - Inflammation begins after the bleeding phase and can last for a few days or even up to 4 weeks depending on injury severity and other individual factors. If there is bleeding, the bodies response will be to form a clot around the wound and the release of pain mediating cells. This causes the signs or swelling such as redness, swelling and warmth. The morning after an injury it will commonly feel worse than the time it happened. During the first 24 hours, you can ice it, elevate the ankle or injury above the heart. Ice hourly for 20 minutes at a time but for not much longer than 24-48 hours. Compression of the area can be helpful for the first 1-5 days.
- Proliferation of scar tissue - While inflammation happens the body produces a collagen matrix at the injury site to form scar tissue. A physio Wembley will tell you this is a time where people try to do too much too soon, but when the collagen is immature, too much load could easily cause a setback. Rest, stick to just walking a little, no jumping, running or athletic activity for a recommended time period.
- Remodelling - At the peak of the proliferation stage remodelling will start. Weaker collagen tissue fibres get stronger and become more robust types. Remodelling lasts from one week up to six weeks depending on the injury, how well it was treated and managed, and whether you try to do too much too soon. For more serious injuries if there is a need for strengthening the muscles and recovery exercises you can see your physio West Perth. They can help improve your range of motion, tissue remodeling and endurance of the injured muscle. The right movements and muscle use can now help reduce swelling and boost collagen fibre alignment or remodelling.
Summary
The assessment, diagnosis and treatment from a physio Wembley depends on injury severity and type. The phases of inflammation overlap so the healing process varies but early assessment and treatment ensures quicker recovery times and quicker return to higher level activity.