4. Applying Ice
If you have any kind of recent muscle, bone or ligament injury, one of the first emergency measures that people are taught in medical school (and during first-aid lessons) is to apply ice directly to the affected area. This is because cooling down a recent injury as close to the moment it actually happens as possible can and will help to reduce the swelling – and a lot of the pain and discomfort that happens due to the swelling.
Ice and compression together are one of the best things that can be done for a recent or healing injury: In many cases, it can even reduce the risk of added bruising, and it can help to relieve the pain until one can get to medical attention for the proper scans and getting the injury in a cast.
Applying ice isn’t just for recent injuries, either. It can also help to relieve the pain and discomfort when it comes to the healing process when the cast has been removed, and ice can even relieve associated pain from injuries that are decades old.