For minor soft tissue injuries, think PEACE and LOVE
When faced with a soft tissue injury — one involving your muscles, tendons, or ligaments — you might remember the RICE acronym. RICE stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation. It’s probably the most common at-home remedy for minor injuries like sprains and strains. But if you want to get on the fast track to healing, you may be better off ditching the RICE and turning to PEACE and LOVE.
“While RICE can be beneficial in the immediate short term, it completely ignores the other aspects of injury recovery — load management and psychological well-being,” says Justin Kertis, PT, DPT, physical therapist at Summit Orthopedics, one of the top orthopedic centers in Carrum Health’s network.
First, think PEACE.
For the first few days after a soft tissue injury, your main goals are to protect the injured area and encourage healing. That’s where PEACE comes in: protect, elevate, avoid anti-inflammatories, compress, and educate.
Protect: Avoid positions or movements that put pressure on the injured area, but try to stay active. Resting for too long can affect your healing and reduce strength and mobility. Instead, slowly reintroduce physical activity into your daily routine, listening to your body and stopping when things get painful or uncomfortable.
Elevate: As often as you can, lift your injured limb above your heart level to help promote healthy blood flow and reduce swelling. You may do this by putting a few pillows under a hurt ankle while lying in bed, or resting an injured wrist on your shoulder instead of down by your side.
Avoid anti-inflammatories: Anti-inflammatories include ice or over-the-counter medicines (like ibuprofen and naproxen). While these may help with immediate pain relief, they can also slow down your body’s natural healing process. Still, using ice or anti-inflammatories may sometimes be okay, like during pain flare-ups or increased swelling at the end of the day.
Compress: Use bandages or tape to wrap the affected area. The wrap should be snug, but not too tight. Make sure your joint can still move through its complete range of motion.
Educate: You know your body best, and your body knows what’s good for it. The more you know about how your body heals after an injury, the easier it will be for you to make choices that help your recovery.
Then, show yourself some LOVE.
After the PEACE phase of your injury is over (the first one to three days), it’s time to support your long-term recovery with LOVE: load, optimism, vascularization, and exercise. This ongoing phase can last from six weeks to several months.
Load: Slowly and gently start putting more weight on your injured joint. Let pain be your guide; you will know when you’re ready to increase your load. Focus on gentle exercises that you can repeat throughout the day. If a particular motion is too painful, reduce the range or depth until you feel more comfortable and build up from there.
Optimism: Soft tissue injuries can take a long time to fully heal. A good attitude and some patience can go a long way. Trust your body’s ability to heal itself, and don’t let anxiety or fear affect your choices during your recovery.
Vascularization: Vascularization means improving your circulation and increasing blood flow. You can do this with gentle aerobic exercise like swimming, walking, or biking — choose any physical activity that’s pain-free and enjoyable.
Exercise: Exercise can help reduce your chance of reinjury by strengthening your soft tissue and promoting healing. Adopting an active approach to your pain will make you stronger, more confident, and better able to manage your injury if it happens again.
“Getting injured is part of being human,” Kertis says. “The best thing that you can do with most injuries is rest, listen to your body, and gradually increase your tolerance to get back to the things you love.”
Often, minor soft tissue injuries can heal over time with at-home care. If you’re suffering from ongoing joint or muscle pain that’s impacting your everyday life, contact Carrum Health. We partner with top providers, including Summit Orthopedics, to help you find the right treatment plan for you.
If your employer provides the Carrum Health benefit, you may be eligible for a complimentary consultation at no cost to you. If your provider recommends surgery, most, if not all, of your surgery costs may be covered. Check your eligibility.
The information contained on this page is for informational purposes only. No material is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
