New Injury? It’s all Peace and Love

What happened to RICE?

We have all sat through first aid courses. You know the ones – an overly excited first aid course educator, not many people asking questions, everyone there pretty much to tick a box. You get through the CPR section, into lacerations and asthma attacks. Just when the end is nigh you get to the sprains and strains section.

On the board goes the slide about RICE or RICER:

Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation
/Refer on
You learn to compress the injury, ice it and off load it.

This acronym has had really good utility for about 40 years since it was coined, the only issue is the educators and researchers who came up with it have since retracted it due to updated research. This new information revolves mainly around the icing component and its effect on healing.

 

To Ice or not to ice

Ice initially was seen as a method of reducing the inflammation and swelling around the injured area. This is true, it does do that, however, in our more updated understanding of the healing process, inflammation is actually a pivotal component. Icing is therefore seen to be, to some extent, detrimental to fast tissue healing.

The benefits of ice however are that it can be used as a pain relief as ice has a certain numbing property that allows for severe pain to be reduced via external means. It is also worth noting that while ice is no longer recommended as the gold standard, it will not stop your tissues from healing, rather it just may not be the best and fastest way.

So what is?

PEACE and LOVE

Researchers have released a new acronym, because there is nothing that first aiders love more than mnemonic devices. This acronym is now the ideal form of acute and sub-acute soft tissue injury management.

Peace Load
Elevate Optimism
Avoid anti-inflammatories Vascularisation
Compress Exercise
Educate

 

This mnemonic is broken into two-time frames. PEACE is in the early and acute stages. You will notice that the swelling management still exists with compression and elevation along with protecting it as needed, this may involve not putting weight through it at all for a few days or using crutches or bracing to help with the amount of force going through the affected area.

Educating yourself about the process and what to expect is also important in positive outcomes post-injury as it allows you to have a full understanding of what your body is managing and how to best help it.

In the sub-acute stage, think a few days after the injury, we start looking at the second word LOVE. We start to think about weaning off of the protection if you’re able and begin loading the tissue. This is important to increase the strength of the tissue as it is healing as well as allowing for good blood flow, or vascularity, to continue in and around the injury.

General exercise is also important as exercising and maintaining good sleep and nutrition creates the best environment within the body for healing and recovery to occur. Just maybe avoid the injured area as needed,
for example, maybe get in the pool or on a bike if you have rolled your ankle or run/ walk if you hurt your shoulder.
So if you have recently injured yourself, begin with PEACE and LOVE and then book in to see your trusted physiotherapist so together you can plot your path back to the activities you want to be doing!

 

Final thoughts

As we wrap up, I want to emphasize the importance of effective acute injury management for a speedy recovery. At Hub and Spoke Health, we are committed to providing top-notch physiotherapy services tailored to your unique needs. I am passionate about helping you maximize your physical abilities and achieve your goals, whether through home visits or personalized treatment plans.

If you’ve experienced an injury or are looking for preventative care, I invite you to reach out to me and the team at Hub and Spoke Health. Together, we can embark on your journey to recovery and enhance your overall well-being.



source https://hubandspoke.health/updated-strategy-for-acute-injury-management/

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