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You are here : home > Child's Healthcare > Related Articles for Child's Healthcare > Coping with Sprains and Strain in Kids

Coping with Sprains and Strain in Kids


sprains and strain in kids

Read on to find out the common causes of sprains and strains in kids and home remedies for dealing with them.

Sprains and strains are really tough to avoid if you have an active kid. Chances are higher if your kid is involved in sports. Kids move at warp speed, so every now and then they trip over a sidewalk and skid on the road or trip over on their own toes or roll over a toy twisting ankle, knee or wrist. These are common injuries and luckily, three out of four cases of such sprains and strains can be treated at home.

What Are Sprains and Strains?

Sprains occur when ligaments (elastic tissues connecting bones at joints) stretch too much or tear. Ankles, knees, and wrists sprain when they are twisted accidentally. While, strains happen when muscles or tendons that connect them to the nearby bone stretch or tear. The neck, back, thigh, and calf muscles strain most often.

How Toddler Sprains and Strains Occur?

Even a trip down a slide in our lap can roll your baby’s ankle and cause sprain if it gets trapped between your leg and the slide. So they are very common, mostly in sports. Strains can happen often while lifting heavy objects or if your baby’s blood has not warmed up to circulate to the muscles.

What Are the Symptoms of Sprains and Strains?

Sprains are more painful than strains. A sprain will probably hurt your kid right away. The injury will swell and may look bruised where blood vessels are ruptured; it may give your kid a feeling of broken bone as he or she will find hard to walk or move the injured part. Strains are tender, sore, and cause some swelling on the area that may appear bruised and would hurt immediately or several hours later.

How to Cope with Sprains and Strains?

The widely used home remedy for minor sprains and strains is the RICE – rest, ice, compression, and elevation – approach.

Rest

Keep your baby from movement and activities that cause pain, swelling, or discomfort at least for 1-2 days. Make sure he or she does not use the sprained or strained part. Do not ban all physical activities.

Ice

Apply an ice pack for 15-20 minutes and repeat it every 2-3 times for the first 2-3 days. The cold temperature reduces pain, swelling, and inflammation in injured tissues, joint, and muscles, and helps in decreasing bleeding in case of a tear. Stop the treatment if cold injury occurs turning the area into white.

Compression

Firmly wrap your kid’s sprain area with an elastic bandage to stop swelling. Make sure that the wrap is not too tight that may make the area numb by prohibiting circulation. Begin wrapping at the end farthest from the heart and work inward toward the injury

Elevation

Prop up the injured area on pillows while your kid is sitting or lying to keep it above the level of the heart. This reduces swelling by way of gravity by draining excess fluid.

How Long Does It Take To Heal?

After this home remedy, you will gradually see improvement in your kid’s injured area. Sprains take almost 3-6 weeks to heal, while strains take a week to heal.

You must take your kid to a doctor after the pain and swelling is over to make sure everything is alright. Sometimes, the physical therapist will help maximise the stability and strength of the injured joint or limb of your child. Unless your doctor gives green signal to do everything your kid wants, wait for the correct time and keep working on the proper and complete healing of sprains and strains.

Is it possible to prevent sprains and strains in kids? What should be done if a child is coping with sprain and strain? How long does it take for sprains and strains to heal? Discuss here.


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Vanshika
Vanshika.9 years ago
What are the urgent home remedies for dealing with bone fracture in kids.
 
 
 
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Sweety
Sweety.9 years ago
RICE approach is very helpful for dealing with sprains and strains in kids.
 
 
 
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Kimaya
Kimaya.9 years ago
Kids keep getting sprains and strains so parents should be prepared to deal with such injuries...article is very helpful for preparing parents.
 
 
 
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