Myths About Pain and Swelling

Myth number 1: Rest is good
Rest is not always good. chronic pain in the back and joints mostly involves the ligaments, tendons, and muscles which become stretched, torn, and weakened. Resting them while they are injured encourages stagnation of blood in damaged tissue resulting in increased swelling and scar tissue formation. The longer movement is restricted, the longer it will take to heal. For each day of non-movement, two days are added to the length of rehabilitation. 

Myth Number 2: inflammation is bad
Wrong, inflammation is good! The human body heals through inflammation. For example, inflammation is necessary to build muscle when the muscle tissue breaks down during exercise. This is why exercising hurts. No pain, no gain would be better said no pain, no inflammation, no gain." The pain during a tough workout is a result of the muscles becoming inflamed and it is inflammation that makes the muscles healthier and stronger. 

Myth Number 3:  Ice is nice.
Nothing will stop the inflammatory process quicker than ice. Ice decreases circulation to the area of injury thereby allowing fewer immune cells to clean up the injured site and lay down new collagen tissue needed to make ligaments, tendons, and muscle.

Myth Number 4: anti-inflammatory medications is good.
Anti-inflammatory medications, by retarding the healing process, make re-injury and chronic pain much more likely in the future. 

Myth Number 5: R.I.C.E is nice.
In our opinion, there is definitive evidence that the RICE treatment, which consists of rest, ice, compression, and elevation delays healing or even contributes to permanent injury. This is because R.I.C.E. decreases circulation to the injury site by discouraging circulation and inflammation. Immune system cells, which are necessary to clean up the injury site and rebuild the ligaments and tendons cannot get to the area if circulation and inflammation is discouraged. 
 

A better approach is M.E.A.T. This stands for movement, exercise, analgesics (pain relievers), and specific treatments that increase blood flow. To speed recovery, movement is needed, take pain relievers that do not decrease inflammation, and then receive specific treatments that encourage healing. These include physical therapy, massage, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, magnetic therapy, and the most potent of the techniques, Prolotherapy. Prolotherapy stimulates the healing process and decreases the length of time it takes for soft tissue injuries to heal by upwards of 50% because it triggers the growth of normal ligament, tendon, and collagen tissue. Prolotherapy causes stronger ligaments and tendons to form, often the injured area will be stronger than before the injury. Prolotherapy treatments last a few minutes and in many cases are repeated only three or four times at six to eight week intervals. Occasionally, an athlete may receive treatments at shorter intervals if warranted. A majority of injured athletes begin to notice improvement after only one treatment. 

Myth Number 6: Cortisone shots help.
The only people who are helped by cortisone shots are the cortisone drug sales people. Cortisone, even one shot, causes irreversible damage to the joint and cartilage. Cortisone weakens tissue and just covers up the pain.

Myth Number 7: "The MRI will show the problem."
A MRI never could, nor can it ever, make the diagnosis of what is causing pain and injury. Only a health care clinician can make the diagnosis. MRI's are notoriously inaccurate. People with no pain often exhibit many abnormalities on MRI scans, while people with injuries often show abnormalities that have nothing to do with their pain. 

Myth Number 8: "Surgery will fix the problem"
Surgery, except for a complete tear of a ligament or tendon, does not fix problems, it creates them. Taking a scalpel and slicing open muscles and fascia, and removing disc, cartilage, and ligament tissue weakens the injured joints. Surgery should always be the last resort for an athlete. 

Myth Number 9 "You have pain because you are exercising. It's expected."
If excessive pain is experienced during exercise it means that something is weakened and injured. Over 90% of the time, this is a ligament or tendon which are notoriously painful when injured because movement causes an additional stretching of an already stretched and weakened structure. 

Myth Number 10: "The quickest way back is through surgery."
Wrong! The quickest way back is not to further damage and permanently weaken injured joints, the quickest way back is to strengthen the area through Prolotherapy injections, (Watch where do Prolotherapy injections go and do they hurt?)