Maybe you were getting really into a new class at your gym. Or maybe you simply stepped awkwardly off the curb. No matter how it happened, your ankle is now painful and swollen, showing every sign of being sprained.
What you do in the first few hours and days after a sprain can help you lessen the pain and heal more quickly, so brush up on these ankle sprain care tips.

The first 24 to 72 hours.

Ankle sprains are very common injuries that can affect anyone—from professional athletes to those with limited mobility, from children to adults. They occur when the ligaments that support the ankle go beyond their normal range of motion and become stretched or torn.

Maybe you were getting really into a new class at your gym. Or maybe you simply stepped awkwardly off the curb. No matter how it happened, your ankle is now painful and swollen, showing every sign of being sprained.

Bandaging a sprained ankle helps stabilize the joint to tissues can heal.

What you do in the first few hours and days after a sprain can help you lessen the pain and heal more quickly, so brush up on these ankle sprain care tips.

The first 24 to 72 hours

Overhead activities like throwing a baseball are difficult. Elevating your arm to put on a sweater is a challenge. Your arm feels weak. Do these symptoms sound familiar? If so, you may have a shoulder condition that makes arm movement difficult and/or painful.

Read about five shoulder conditions and injuries that may be causing you limited mobility in your shoulder:

If you have hip pain, there's a good chance that arthritis is the culprit. Find out if it's an inflammatory disease like psoriatic arthritis.

Arthritis pain can affect one or both of your hips. Fortunately, stretching and flexibility exercises can help relieve pain.
Sebastian Kaulitzki/Thinkstock

Arthritis is a common cause of hip pain and mobility changes. But there are different types of arthritis, including psoriatic arthritis that may be the culprit.

More than a quarter of older adults will develop arthritis hip pain, which threatens mobility you're likely to walk slower, climb stairs less quickly, and cover less distance, according to research published in February 2014 in the journal Disability and Rehabilitation.

Your elbow lets you throw, lift, swing, and hug, for starters. You can do all this because it’s not a simple joint. And that means, from sports injuries to even elbow, there are a lot of ways things can go wrong.
Your elbow’s a joint formed where three bones come together your upper arm bone, called the humerus, and the ulna and the radius, the two bones that make up your forearm.

Each bone has cartilage on the end, which helps them slide against each other and absorb shocks. They’re lashed into place with tough tissues called ligaments. And your tendons connect your bones to muscles to allow you to move your arm in different ways.

If anything happens to any of these parts, not to mention the nerves and blood vessels around them, it can cause you pain.
Here are some of the different ways your elbow can hurt:

A sprained ankle is one of the most common orthopedic injuries. Every day, about 25,000 people in the U.S. suffer an ankle sprain. Ankle sprains occur in both athletes and those with sedentary lifestyles, and they can occur during sports or when walking to carry out daily activities.
 
 A sprain is actually an injury to the ligaments of the ankle joint, which are elastic, band-like structures that hold the bones of the ankle joint together and prevent excess turning and twisting of the joint. In normal movement, the ligaments can stretch slightly and then retract back to their normal shape and size. A sprain results when the ligaments of the ankle have been stretched beyond their limits. In severe sprains, the ligaments may be partially or completely torn.

Shoulder impingement syndrome occurs as the result of chronic and repetitive compression or "impingement" of the rotator-cuff tendons in the shoulder, causing pain and movement problems. It can also be caused by an injury to the shoulder. People who perform repetitive or overhead arm movements, such as manual laborers or athletes who raise their arms repeatedly overhead (ie, weightlifters and baseball pitchers), are most at risk for developing a shoulder impingement. Poor posture can also contribute to its development. If left untreated, a shoulder impingement can lead to more serious conditions, such as a rotator cuff tear. Physical therapists can help decrease pain, and improve shoulder motion and strength in people with shoulder impingements.

Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow: what’s the Difference?

While many people are familiar with the names of these conditions, there is less widespread understanding about how they differ. Both tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, and golfer’s elbow, or medial epicondylitis, are injuries to the tendons attaching your forearm muscles to the bone at your elbow. The “epicondyle” part of epicondylitis refers to the bony bumps or protrusions at your elbow.

Lateral epicondylitis affects the tendons attached to the outer (lateral) side of your elbow, which are connected in turn to the muscles that extend your wrist backward and straighten your fingers. Medial epicondylitis affects tendons connected to the inner (medial) side of your elbow, which are attached to the muscles that flex your wrist and contract your fingers when you grip something.
 
Both injuries are usually the result of repetitive strain on the tendons, and although you don’t have to be a golfer or tennis player to experience them, the repeated forceful motions involved in both sports make them very common.

Overview
Neck pain results when the spine is stressed by injury, disease, wear and tear, or poor body mechanics. Acute neck pain is abrupt, intense pain that can radiate to the head, shoulders, arms, or hands. It typically subsides within days or weeks with rest, physical therapy and other self-care measures. You play an important role in the prevention, treatment and recovery process of neck pain. However, if chronic, pain will persist despite treatment and need further evaluation.

Figure 1. (Side view)The neck region is called the cervical spine. Protected within the bones of the cervical spine are the spinal cord and nerves. The seven cervical bones, called vertebrae, are numbered C1 to C7. Each bone is separated and cushioned by shock-absorbing discs. The vertebrae are held in place by muscles and ligaments. The spinal nerves pass through bony canals to branch out to the neck and arms.

It can be painful or difficult to move in certain ways when you have a back problem. Some movements cause your back to arch a lot, while others cause your back to round too much. Your back will feel most comfortable moving in the middle between arched and rounded. This is your functional range of movement. The more you keep your back in this functional range of movement, the better you will feel. There are movement strategies you can learn and use to keep your back in the functional range as you reach, bend, lift and turn. This will help reduce your pain.

When you reach overhead into the cupboard, or to wash your hair, or while you kneel to garden, your back will want to arch. To keep your back in the functional range, practice the following movement strategies; first in the lying position (A), then on all fours (B), then in the standing position (C).

 

If you’ve never visited a physical therapist before, or have heard some disquieting rumors that have discouraged you to do so, take a look at these 5 common misconceptions about physical therapy.

MYTH 1:
PHYSICAL THERAPY IS EXTREMELY PAINFUL.

Fact: Yes, some discomfort may be experienced while undergoing physical therapy, but physical therapy is meant to reduce pain and not increase it. “No pain, no gain” is only true in rare cases. Let your physical therapist know when you are in pain, and they can adjust your therapy accordingly. The main objective is to help you heal while working within your pain threshold.

 What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is pain, tingling, and weakness due to pressure on the median nerve in your wrist. The median nerve and several tendons run from your fore¬arm to your hand through a small space in your wrist called the carpal tunnel. The median nerve controls movement and feeling in your thumb and first three fingers (not your little finger).
Causes and Risk Factors
Pressure on the median nerve causes carpal tunnel syndrome. This pressure can come from swelling or anything that makes the carpal tunnel space smaller. Sometimes it is not possible to tell what causes the increased pressure. However, certain lifestyle and medical risk factors that may contribute to carpal tunnel syndrome include:

• Illnesses such as hypothyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes
• Pregnancy
• Obesity
• Forceful gripping or grasping activi¬ties with your hands
• Making the same hand or wrist movements over and over, especially if the wrist is bent down (your hands lower than your wrists)
• Wrist injuries and bone spurs
• Smoking, because it can reduce blood flow to the median nerve

You often lose strength and motion in your knee when it is painful and swollen. This can happen after injury or overuse. The exercises and tips listed below will help you decrease pain and swelling, increase range of motion, improve strength and help you return to your normal activities as soon as possible.

How to reduce pain and swelling

Rest: Avoid painful activities to give your knee time to heal. Limit your walking and other standing activities when your knee is painful or swollen. Use a cane or crutches to decrease the stress on your knee. It is best to use the cane on the opposite side of your painful knee. Use supportive shoes when you are standing or walking.

Ice & Elevation: Place a cold pack on your knee with a thin towel between your skin and the cold pack to prevent a rash or burn. Use ice 15-20 minutes, 2-4 times per day as long as your knee is warm, painful or swollen. Elevate your knee above the level of your heart to help with the pain and swelling.

Compression: If your knee is swollen, using a knee brace or wrap may help with the pain and swelling and provide support to your knee. Apply the elastic wrap loosely from your calf to right above your knee. You should be able to easily put two fingers under the wrap.

Range of Motion Exercises
It is important to begin moving your knee and ankle to prevent stiffness reduce swelling and increase circulation. Start by bringing your toes and foot towards your shin and then point your foot away 10-20 times every hour.