What is the simplest and most effective way to reduce swelling and blood stasis?

Nowadays, many people often suffer from bruises due to running and jumping. Trauma will cause local congestion, and severe cases will lead to redness and swelling. The most important thing is that muscle ligament sprains should not be massaged repeatedly, because massage will only aggravate the condition. Do not use a too hot towel for hot compresses. To reduce swelling and congestion, you need to use ice water after icing, and then bandage it. If the condition is serious, you need to go to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible. Be careful not to move the local area first to maintain local blood circulation.

After spraining a joint, avoid rubbing or massaging it immediately or applying a hot towel.

You should use cold water or ice cubes for 15 minutes, apply turpentine oil or Panax notoginseng powder, Yunnan Baiyao, or use Chinese herbal medicine that promotes blood circulation, disperses blood stasis and reduces swelling, such as dandelion and purslane, and mash them for external application.

Many people take a nonchalant attitude towards ankle sprains, thinking that “it will heal in two days”, but this is not the case. Appropriate rest is necessary, but it is not the whole of treatment. Patients who have not received formal treatment are 3 to 4 times more likely to suffer ankle re-injury than those who have received formal treatment. For patients with first-time injuries in the acute phase, if the injury does not involve ligament tissue, as long as they receive regular conservative treatment under the guidance of a specialist and abide by the principles of rest, ice compress, pressure bandage, and elevation of the affected limb, they can usually achieve satisfactory results.

During the acute phase, cold compresses can be applied for 10 to 20 minutes each time, once every 6 hours, and hot compresses can be applied for 2 to 3 days after 48 hours to promote the absorption of local tissue exudate as soon as possible and relieve pain. If necessary, the ankle can be immobilized with adhesive tape for 2 to 3 weeks.

First of all, you should avoid continuing to bear weight or walk after the injury, and never let your companions massage the injured area.

You can use a bandage or wide tape to fix the affected ankle in a slightly everted position after dorsiflexing it 90 degrees, restrict walking, and send the patient to the hospital for treatment.

For those with mild symptoms, you can apply cold water or a cold towel and elevate the affected limb immediately after the injury. At this time, cold compress can cause blood vessels to contract, reduce local congestion, lower tissue temperature, and play a role in stopping bleeding, reducing swelling, and relieving pain. Therefore, local cold compress should be applied after an acute sprain, and the sooner the better. Elevating the affected limb can speed up the return of blood and lymph, and prevent blood from stagnating in the injured blood vessels.

Cold compress method: Place a towel soaked in cold water on the injured area, and change it every 3 minutes or so. You can also put ice cubes in a plastic bag and apply it externally for 20 to 30 minutes each time. In summer, you can use tap water to rinse. The rinsing time is generally about 4 to 5 minutes, not too long.

If your ankle has been sprained for more than 24 hours, you should use heat therapy instead. At this time, hot compress can improve blood and lymph circulation, and is beneficial to the absorption of blood stasis and exudate in the wound.

Hot compress method: Place a towel soaked in hot water or hot vinegar on the injured area, and replace it after 5 to 10 minutes when the towel is no longer hot. Do this 1 to 2 times a day, each time applying hot compress for about 30 minutes.

A joint sprain should be treated promptly. The principle is to apply braking, reduce swelling and relieve blood stasis so that the damaged tissue can be repaired well. If there is a lot of blood in the joints, it should be drained out promptly under sterile techniques to avoid subsequent adhesions within the joints. If the joint is unstable due to ligament rupture or avulsion fracture, surgical reduction and repair are required to avoid repeated sprains, articular cartilage damage and traumatic arthritis.