A local leg muscle, tendon or joint injury, (or a back issue is causing leg pain), it’s important to treat all leg injuries with careful and focussed attention.
Identifying a Leg Injury – What to Look For
If you or another person is experiencing leg pain, it is important to receive an accurate diagnosis to ensure the correct management of your pain. Only a qualified physician can provide an accurate and reliable assessment.
Sprains, and ligament tears to the calf and/or thigh are the most common types of leg injuries but fractures to the bones of the leg are also possible. These usually occur from trauma or a direct blow. Depending of the severity of the pain, symptoms of a leg injury can include:
- Severe pain
- Disfiguration or dislocation
- A sense of numbness or tingling
- Inability to move the leg normally due to weakness and or excessive pain
- Inability to put weight on the affected leg
- Signs of swelling, warmth, redness and/or bruising
If a bone is poking through the skin, call 000 for emergency assistance
Treating a Leg Injury – How You Can Help
Elastoplast offers a range of leg injury management products to help you protect and care for you and your family.
Your first point of call should be to a qualified physician. While you are waiting for a medical attention, follow and apply the RICER protocol to the affected area:
- Rest – rest the leg and avoid putting weight on it
- Ice – apply a cold Hot/Cold Pack to the injury for 20 minutes at regular intervals to help reduce discomfort
- Compression – Gently strap or tape the affected area of the leg for support and gentle using an Tubular Support Bandage.
- Elevation – Elevate the injured leg and rest on a soft surface to help reduce any bleeding or swelling.
- Referral – Refer yourself or the injured child to a qualified physician for precise diagnosis and further care and treatment advice
Always read the label. Use only as directed. If symptoms persist contact your healthcare practitioner.
Preventing a Leg Injury – How to Best Prepare Yourself
By their nature, accidents can be difficult to prevent. There are a number of proactive ways you can help to avoid leg injuries from occurring or reoccurring, though.
- Thoroughly stretch, warm up and cool down before and after exercise and sport
- Don’t over exert yourself. If you experience pain when playing sport or exercising, stop, cool down and gently stretch
- When traveling long distances in a sitting position, remember to walk around every two hours to decrease the risk of DVT
- Wear appropriate footwear with good support and grip
- Maintain a healthy body weight to decrease any stress on your leg bones and joints
Please note that none of the above given tips or recommendations substitute medical advice. Important: consult a health professional in case of an injury or if you suspect overuse of joints or a medical condition such as a fracture. A physician should be consulted in those acute cases when the condition is accompanied by reddening, swelling or hyperthermia of joints, ongoing joint trouble or severe pain and/or are associated with neurological symptoms
(e.g. numbness, tingling, loss of motion).