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WHAT DOES THE RECENT BIG FREEZE MEAN FOR US?
When the weather turns to snow and ice what are the injuries we see. There are obviously the people who have fallen over and broken bones or sprained joints. There are those that have been involved in road traffic accidents. There are those that have had a little slip and not fallen perhaps but just jarred something. With the cold weather comes the need to try and keep warm and this can also create muscle stiffness.
So where are these injuries at as we go into February/March?
BROKEN BONES
These will now be coming out of casts (generally 4-6 weeks for upper limb and 6-8 weeks for lower limb). The injured area will be stiff and need mobilising. It will also be weak. In the case of leg breaks you will normally need to learn to walk properly again.
SPRAINED JOINTS
You are now getting to the stage (4-6 weeks post injury) where real stiffness is starting to set in. You are probably subconsciously compensating for your pain/stiffness without realising it and potentially causing more strain on other joints or parts of the body.
‘JUST JARRED SOMETHING’
If it’s still sore it’s probably not going to get better on it’s own as you may have hoped. Like any soft tissue injury (see sprained joint above) it is entering the time frame where things are starting to stiffen and give you more problems.
WHIPLASH INJURIES
Injuries resulting from car accidents typically don’t start at the scene of the accident but often come on 2-48 hours after the event. Again this is linked to an inflammatory process. Day 3-5 after the accident are often the worst days where it just seems to be getting worse rather than better. These injuries may then improve a bit and will then sometimes go backwards a little at this stage again as then injured soft tissue starts to scar and shorten.
POSTURAL TENSION
When people are cold they tend to hunch their shoulders. Do this for long enough (a couple of weeks) and it starts to become a habit. The earlier you break the habit the easier it is to break.
THE MORAL OF THE STORY
Early mobilisation and education about your injury and the best way to get it moving and keep it moving is essential. If it hasn’t got better on it’s own by now, leaving it any longer can make the problem much harder to fix, and will take more time to do so as well. Book an appointment with one of our physios if this is you.
