how to recover from injury ASAP?

[peanutskates]

another injury for me... yesterday whilst learning the back teapot, I was too stubborn to fall and roll, so I smacked into the boards going faster than I thought I was. So I hit the bone at the top of my bottom... really hard. Then I was learning the backspin, fell backwards ON THE SAME SPOT, which hurt like crazy, and couldn't really do anything much for the rest of the session. There's no bruise though.

I barely slept last night because it hurt quite a lot, and I can't do any action quickly, everything is now slow and still rather painful.

I'm going skating tomorrow, and I need it to heal/stop hurting so much v. v. soon. Also, what's better for this, an ice-pack or a heat-pack?

thanks

Has anyone got any get-well-soon suggestions? also, what is better for

[Isk8NYC]

Initial treatment:

Rest - Try not to use the injured limb or body part. In your case, a cutout cushion would help keep the pressure off the coccyx. (That's the proper name for the tailbone.)
Ice - 20 minutes at a time for 24 hours (appx. don't lose sleep over it.)
Compression - wrap an injured limb in an Ace bandage. How about tight pants?
Elevation - sleep on your tummy over a pillow.

Take an anti-inflammatory pain reliever for 24-48 hours as recommended on the label. (A single dose won't help for long.)

Not sure when you're supposed to switch from cold packs to hot packs - where are the medics on this Board?

Make sure you wear some padding if you go skating again. You CAN break your tailbone with some bad luck.

[vesperholly]

Rest is more important than going skating. Better to heal an injury completely than to rush back and reinjure yourself and be off ice even longer. If you couldn't sleep and can't do much of anything, WHY are you going skating?! 8O Stay home, ice your butt, and concentrate on healing.

[Sessy]

I'd suggest a visit to the doctor if you don't feel better in about a week, because a cracked tailbone takes about 6 months to heal up (at least, it did on a friend of mine) and an other person, a classmate of mine, cracked AND moved hers and it took a year before she could sit pain-free. So you'd wanna know if it's broken/cracked etc.

Other than this, I'd say coldpack, and a grid drawn with iodium (a desinfectant) on top of the sore spot (I don't know how it works, but it works). Apparently, cabbage leaves can help too (I've never tried, I've no idea whether they must be cooked or raw or whatever).

Do not go skating tomorrow. Take a week off until it's clear what the problem is in the first place. Usually the pain from soft-tissue injury is worst on the 2nd day for me, after that it gets less fast.

[sue123]

I think you're supposed to switch from ice to heat after 24 hours. Actually, I've also heard that you are supposed to alternate ice and heat. Although don't take my word for it.

Sue (who is not yet anything in the medical field besides a future med student which means she doesn't know anything yet)

[southernsk8er]

(disclaimer: not a doctor) i've found personally that taking aleve (or other naproxen sodium) and lying on my stomach with ice pack on the injured spot helps a lot. even if you don't see a bruise now, it's probably swollen, and getting the swelling down will help with the pain. someone else suggested an appropriate time frame - i think she said 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off, or something like that. i don't know about using heat unless it's a muscle problem, but like i said i'm not an expert. i hope you start feeling better soon!!

[Rusty Blades]

Ok Peanut, when you cut that foam, cut it EXTRA HIGH so you cover that part of your back! 8-) We don't want you doing this again!

[peanutskates]

okeydokey... thank you for all the replies. I'll try to pad that area with some foam/sponges tomorrow. it's not that bad now, and I think it'll be OK tomorrow.

anyway, what better way to ice my butt other than to go skating? ;)

[Tiggerwoos]

I don't have anything else to add as the others have offered some great advice, but hope it feels better soon.

Hurt my tail bone on the tube one day when the tube came to a dramatic hault and I fell on the arm (hard rubbery plastic thing) and whacked my tailbone so hard it made me feel sick so can sympathise with the pain.

I'm sure that with everyone's advice you'll be feeling fine in no time at all.

[peanutskates]

tigerwoos - *ouch* is all I can say...

OK, will try to get some rest today and all the other tips.
I'll see how I feel tomorrow morning and then decide whether to go skating or not. bear in mind that my skates aren't holding up too well right now, so no jumps for me. if I go, I'll just work on footwork (when else am I going to perfect it?)

[Sessy]

Aleve is a good anti-inflammatory drug too, and it's a very strong painkiller which does not increase bleeding like ibuprofen does, and it's not as bad for your stomach as ibuprofen and paracetamol are. I'd definately recommend Aleve as well - though no longer than a week, after this you start getting used to it.

[liz_on_ice]

Aleve is a good anti-inflammatory drug too, and it's a very strong painkiller which does not increase bleeding like ibuprofen does, and it's not as bad for your stomach as ibuprofen and paracetamol are. I'd definately recommend Aleve as well - though no longer than a week, after this you start getting used to it.

Aleve is also rough on your stomach, my brother gave himself a seriously bad set of ulcers, self medicating for back pain and taking larger than recommended dosages for an extended period.

[Mrs Redboots]

Sympathy!

Nurofen and Ibuleve gel. Nurofen plus at first, or Solpadeine - or go to the doctor and get co-codamol or co-proxamol.

And wait for it to stop hurting. It will soon stop for most of the time, but will go on being sore when you think about it for longer than you would believe possible.

[peanutskates]

yeah, it's just a bit sore now, and doesn't hurt as much. so i'll probably go skate tomorrow