What is RICE technology? RICE is a combination of the initials of four words in English (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). The Chinese meaning is: “rest, ice, compression, elevation”. RICE technique is used for acute muscle, ligament and other soft tissue strains, sprains, or other bruising injuries. It is the gold standard for the treatment of acute sports injuries. Within the first 24-48 hours of an acute sports injury, injuries to muscles, ligaments, and other soft tissues can cause such things as muscle tears, rupture of blood vessels, and the onset of swelling and pain at the site of the injury. Increased bleeding from broken blood vessels further triggers secondary hypoxic injury, leading to cellular tissue necrosis. Therefore, early treatment is aimed at effectively controlling excessive bleeding. Proper use of the RICE technique can reduce vascular bleeding, help relieve swelling and pain, facilitate early healing, and shorten recovery time. What are the specific components of the RICE technique? The so-called “rest” is not just a reduction in activity, but a simple rest of the body. The key is to protect the injured area, limit the activity and get rest, so it includes more of the concept of “local braking”. After any muscle, bone and joint injury, rest and braking is the first step. You need to stop exercising immediately to allow time for the injury to heal. For example, when you sprain your ankle, you should not normally walk on the injured foot with weight. The injured area should be fully rested and should not be used or stressed with weight. It is usually necessary to rest the injured area for 1-2 days. If a more serious injury occurs, you will need to go to the hospital. In this case, crutches, splints or plaster supports may be needed to protect the injured area for better rest. Minor injuries caused by repetitive motion can accumulate into larger injuries, so it is important to know when to stop playing sports. Usually with enough rest and treatment, minor injuries can heal without further deterioration. When a minor injury occurs during exercise, people often feel that they can just grit their teeth and get through it. In fact, with this approach, sometimes the pain or discomfort seems to ease a bit. There are many reasons for this. During exercise, the nerve fibers respond to mechanical activity signals, similar to how the transmission of impulses by nociceptive nerve fibers can be reduced by touching and touching. The practice of gritting one’s teeth to get through may reduce pain signaling and relieve some of the pain. This phenomenon is mentioned in the doctrine of pain gating. Other factors include, for example, the mental state during exercise, which can also play a role in reducing pain. However, pain is a signal of injury, through these methods to reduce the pain does not reduce the local damage to the damaged tissue itself, if continued movement will cause more serious injury. 2, ice (Ice) ice, more systematically known as cryotherapy (Cryotherapy), is one of the most widely used methods for the treatment of acute sports injuries. It is economical, easy to use and convenient, can help control the development of swelling and inflammation of the injured area. After an injury, ice should be used as early as possible to help recover sooner. The main principles of ice are: 1) constrict the blood vessels of the injured area to reduce bleeding, thus reducing swelling; 2) relieve pain; 3) relieve muscle spasm; 4) reduce the risk of cellular tissue damage by reducing the metabolic rate. When performing ice therapy, do not directly touch the ice to the skin. Use a towel or clothing to wrap the ice pack before applying ice. If you cannot find ice, you can use a bag of frozen chestnut rice or frozen peas. So sometimes even a glass of cold water will do. Each ice pack is usually applied for about 15-20 minutes, then the ice pack is removed and rested for 15-20 minutes so that the injury turns warm and returns to room temperature. Depending on the injury, this can be repeated several times. In the 1-2 days after the damage, you should use ice as much as possible. 3, compression (Compression) compression techniques are generally used within 24-48 hours after the injury and can help limit the progress of swelling in the injured area; can also provide additional support protection of the injured area. Compression of the injured area increases the pressure in the tissue and narrows the blood vessels, thereby slowing the progression of inflammation and preventing further swelling within the joint. If this swelling is allowed to develop, it can severely impair limb function. There are several ways to implement compression techniques. One of the most effective is to use a compression bandage to wrap the injured area. A compression bandage is usually a type of bandage with elasticity, which is commonly referred to as an elastic bandage. The advantage of compression bandages is that they are easy to use and the elastic support provides enough local pressure to stop excessive bleeding and reduce blood leakage into the surrounding tissue of the injury. Conventional non-elastic bandages, training tape or even a piece of clothing cloth can also be used, but care needs to be taken not to wrap too tightly as this may cause local tissue necrosis. When you find the end of the limb, such as fingers, toes, etc., the skin color pale, cold, may be too tight bandage caused by the bandage, need to be removed immediately, should be taken seriously. When wrapping from the distal end of the injured part, layer by layer covering the proximal end of the wrap. Pressure can be combined with the use of ice bags, that is, the bandage wrapped in ice bags pressure wrapped around the injured area. Compression at the same time for ice, two birds with one stone. 4, elevation (Elevation) elevation, usually means elevating the affected limb. It is a way to use gravity to help blood and tissue fluid return to reduce swelling at the injured site and relieve pain. After an injury, the injured area is placed as high above the level of the heart as possible to use gravity to help return blood flow back to the heart. Elevation of the affected limb is recommended around the clock for 48 hours after the injury. For example, for lower extremity injuries, keep the ankle above the hip level as much as possible. For upper extremity injuries, a brace or sling can be used. If it is not possible to keep the injured area above the level of the heart, at least keep it at the same level. Do not go below that level if possible, as this may increase swelling.