Preventing and treating sports injuries

In short: Typical sports injuries are strains, bruises, sprains and overuse damage. The RICE rule (rest, ice, compression, elevation) helps with first aid.

In more detail: Most injuries result from increasing too fast, fatigue, poor warm-up or unsuitable equipment.

In detail

• Prevention: Warm up, good shoes, rest, increase slowly, learn technique (aufwaermen-und-cooldown).
• RICE: Stop at once, cool (not ice directly on skin), compress lightly with a bandage, elevate the limb.
• Strain: Sudden pain in the muscle. Rest and later load slowly again.
• Sprain: Joint overstretched or ligaments injured. Swelling and pain, immobilise the joint.
• See a doctor: With severe swelling, deformity, inability to bear weight, numbness or suspected fracture (erste-hilfe-grundlagen).
• Return: Only when pain-free, step by step.