Getting back to normal after an injury?
The immediate pain of an injury is often hard to bear. There are many common sports injuries suffered by professionals and amateur participants. First aid is often all that you need, followed by rest and recovery.
Injuries to joints, muscles, and ligaments may still cause pain as the days go on, however. Common side effects of injuries most of us would recognize include pain and swelling. The classic RICE approach promotes rest and icing the affected area to start with. E is for elevating the injured part.
And the C? That stands for compression.
How Can Compression Sleeves Help With Pain?
When you compress part of the body using these garments, you encourage a stronger blood flow to that area. You may think that wearing something tighter around the affected area makes things hurt more. That’s not the case.
As the blood more readily flows through that area, it helps reduce any swelling. It also gives you greater support and awareness of that area.
There is also the benefit offered by increased oxygen flow. The compressive sleeve helps to drive up oxygenation in that part of the body. Both effects help to reduce the amount of discomfort you feel around the injury. They also help speed up your recovery.
Reducing The Chances Of Aggravating The Injury
There is nothing worse than sensing your injury is starting to improve, only to irritate or affect it in some way. You might turn and move a sprained ankle in the wrong way. You could pick something up in your hand – the one with tendonitis – and feel a sudden flare-up of pain.
This is less likely to occur when you are wearing a compression sleeve. The snug yet comfortable fit supports the area rather than feeling tight. Think of it as an athletic support or Ace bandage transformed into a piece of clothing. It’s near the reality.
You’ll also stay more aware of your injury. You’ll feel less pain, yet with the compressive sleeve in place, you’ll notice the difference. That awareness helps you become alert to the way you’re moving and using the affected area.
Bridging The Gap Between Injury And Recovery
This is often the hardest part of recovering from any sporting injury. It could be a sprained ankle you sustained on a hike. You may have gone through a bout of tennis elbow following a series of tough matches.
Medical experts encourage us to move around to get back to normal faster once an injury begins to heal. However, it is easy to overdo it. Wearing a compression sleeve helps you move from injury to recovery while minimizing the chance of injuring yourself again. It’s far easier to reduce any discomfort or pain you feel during that process than to go it alone without a sleeve to support you along the way.
Have you ever worn a compression sleeve to support an injury as you started to move around again? Would you think about it for the future?
