You’ve heard of RICE, right?
Rest
Ice
Compress
Elevate
But have you heard of PEACE and LOVE for soft tissue injuries?
The acronym is:
Protect
Elevate
Avoid anti-inflammatory modalities
Compress
Educate
&
Load
Optimism
Vascularization
Exercise
What a great opportunity to introduce PEACE and LOVE in the context of ankle sprains.
Lateral ankle sprains are common, and there seems to be a lot of uncertainty about how to treat them. Whether they happen from a fall, or in a high intensity sport, PEACE and LOVE provides a good framework for treatment of ankle sprains (and for most soft tissue injuries).
What stands out to me are two main things:
Avoid anti-inflammatory modalities like ice and medication, and
Load
Inflammation is part of our body’s natural healing process, but it has often been thought that perhaps our bodies ‘overdo it’ when it comes to inflammation after an injury. In the past, we have surmised that ice can help to slow the body’s processes of inflammation and decrease swelling following an injury. However, recent evidence is more mixed on the use of ice following soft tissue injuries such as an ankle sprain. For a regular ankle sprain where the swelling isn’t significantly preventing movement or restricting function, I would lean towards avoiding ice… this might need to be another blog topic!
Load is something that I tend to discuss at length with my clients. When it comes to ankle sprains this means trying to walk as normally as possible, without a limp or pain. By using things like crutches and canes or walking boots as needed, we can load the ankle appropriately.
Of course the ‘E’ for exercise is my favorite. This allows us to regain motion, strength, weight bearing abilities, and balance.
As a physiotherapist, I feel very fortunate to have a lot of time to discuss these types of things with my patients. I’m then able to tailor an individual exercise program for your specific injury and its limitations.
Stay tuned for my follow-up on chronic ankle sprains!
Tim Schmidt works at our Valleyview clinic location. To book an appointment with Tim or one of our other therapists, click HERE to book online or call 250-314-0788
