Overview of Treatment for Soft Tissue Pain

Numerous activities can cause muscle, ligaments, and tendon damage. You may experience swelling, pain, damage, and bruising in the affected region. You can classify soft tissue pain and injuries as:

1.     Contusion

You may develop bruise or contusion in your soft tissue after a fall, kick or, blow. Because of the tissue bleeding, you may experience swelling, pain, and discoloration of the tissue. For treatment, you can rely on ice therapy. Furthermore, compression and resting will also alleviate the pain. However, if your condition is getting worse, you should visit a pain management doctor. 

2.     Sprain

A sprain affects your wrists, knees, and ankles. This condition occurs after a severe twist or wrench that tears up the ligament. Resting, compression and ice therapy can help in treating the condition. You may require a surgical repair when the ligament completely tears up.

3.     Tendonitis

Tendonitis is the band of tissue connecting your bones and muscles. When you develop inflammation in your tendon, you will feel severe pain. Overusing the tendon and repetitive motion may cause tendonitis. Common parts of the body that experience tendonitis include the wrist, hand, elbow, knee, and foot. 

4.     Bursitis

Bursitis is a condition similar to tendonitis as it occurs after excessive use of a body part. Bursa is a sac-like cushion between tendons, muscles, and bones. The common regions for bursitis are the elbow, shoulders, ankle, hip, knee, and foot.

5.     Stress Fracture

You may develop a stress fracture because of a small crack in the bone. When you over-lift, your lower extremity bones, such as feet, hips, and legs, develop minor injuries. An increase in physical activity and overuse leads to stress fractures.

6.     Strain

A strain is a muscle or tendon injury that develops due to overstretching, sudden force, and overuse. To treat strain, use compression, ice, elevation, and rest. You may require surgical repair after a tear in your muscle. 

Causes of Soft Tissue Pain

The most common cause for trauma and other musculoskeletal injuries that affect your soft-tissues include:

·       Sudden or direct force after an accident, fall, or sports injury

·       Frequent wear and tear due to daily repetitive activities from jerking and vibrating movements

·       Overuse, especially after overtraining for a sport

The severity of the pain and other causes depends on the strength of the force.

Symptoms of Soft Tissue Pain

Here are some obvious symptoms of developing soft-tissue injuries:

·       Pain

·       Discoloration or bruising

·       Swelling

·       Muscle spasm

·       Numbness and weird sensation

·       The inability of muscle function

·       Dislocation or fracture

When you develop soft tissue pain, you cannot move your injured part normally. Because of the damaged structure and pain, your body movement will be limited. A few hours after the injury, you will develop swelling. If you do not develop swelling, you may experience a severe sprain.

When you start bleeding under the skin, you will notice bruises. The broken blood vessels in the affected area will cause bleeding. The bruise will be purple-black initially. Then, it will green and yellow as the body starts reabsorbing the blood. The bruise can also expand, depending upon the intensity of the bleeding.

Because such injuries are painful, you might be unable to move the affected part. If a child experiences an injury and refuses to move the body part, they might experience soft tissue pain. But just because you can move the injured part doesn’t imply that you’re not injured. You need to visit the doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Treatment for Soft Tissue Pain

Soft tissues include your muscles, ligaments, and tendons. After sudden movement, your soft tissues become injured, strained, and sprained. If you experience severe force or repeated activity on these parts, you may develop soft tissue pain and injury. These injuries are acute soft tissue injures, and you may develop this condition after an accident or as a result of playing sports. Severe swelling and pain can be irritating, but you will recover with time. You can reduce the severity of soft tissue pain by visiting a pain management doctor.

·       First Three Days Treatment

The first three days after the injury can be intimidating as your soft tissue pain will be severe. Also, this period is the inflammatory stage. You can reduce the pain by seeking PEACE, as this is an effective course of treatment. PEACE stands for:

Protection–Lessen the movements and activities of your body parts that increase the pain.

Elevation – Lift your affected area above your heart if possible

Avoid – Take anti-inflammatory medication to lower the swelling. Icing the injured part for more than five minutes will increase the swelling.

Compression – Compression bandage or compression taping can help reduce the swelling.

Education – Avoid additional treatment at home and let your body heal itself.

·       After Three Days Treatment

After three days, you need to follow the technique LOVE:

Load – You can return to your normal routine gradually. However, you need to understand the condition of your body before increasing the load.

Optimism – Stay positive and confident by conditioning your brain for recovery.

Vascularization – Increase blood circulation to affected body parts through aerobic and cardiovascular activities. A professional pain management doctor will help you choose the routine.

Exercise – Adopt an active strategy by recovering strength, mobility, and balance.

Important Stages of the Soft Tissue Pain Treatment

1.     Protection

Do not perform activities that increase your discomfort and pain. Moving the injured body part will slow down the recovery process. 

Moving the injured body part is also essential for optimal recovery. Rotate the limb or affected area in different directions without causing sharp pain. Activities in the same direction as the injury will increase the pain and injury. Therefore, avoid moving the injured body part in the same direction it’s in. For instance, if you have a twisted knee, twist your knee in the opposite direction. You can use a splint or brace to limit the movement if you experience severe pain.

2.     Elevation

Elevate the injured part of the body above the joint that’s closer to it. For instance, if you have an injury in your ankle, support your legs with the pillow and raise it above the knee. This will avoid excessive swelling. Elevate the body part as much as you can during the first three days. Initially, avoid icing and anti-inflammatory medication.

Icing the affected area might relieve you from the pain, but it will intervene with your tissue recovery. Here are some tips for using the ice in the right way for effective results.

·       Apply some moisturizer or oil on the affected region. You can use almond oil, vegetable oil, or olive oil, depending on your preference. The oil will prevent the ice from sticking to the body part.

·       Cover the ice, chill pack, or frozen peas in a tea-towel. Do not apply ice directly to the affected area.

·       Apply a towel to the area.

·       You might develop ice burn with additional compression if you place the affected area, such as thigh or calf, on the ice. Always apply ice on the body part.

·       Place the bag of ice on the area for five minutes. If the injured area is turning painful due to cold, then remove the ice immediately.

·       Apply ice every two hours if the soft tissue pain is acute. If the injury is not severe, applying it three to four times a day will be enough.

·       After removing the ice, your skin will look pink. You do not have to worry about it as it is normal.

Avoid applying ice if you experience numbness or loss of sensation in the affected body part. This can lead to Raynaud’s disease, poor circulation, sensitivity to cold, and broken skin.

3.     Compression

Many people opt for compression support or bandage for soft tissue pain in the early stage. This technique isn’t essential but optional. However, you should avoid compression if you are already trying elevation.

4.     Load

Load simply means moving the affected area within the comfort zone. You can use this technique as well as different compression techniques. Using compression and load together will give you complete support and relief. Nevertheless, you will still experience difficulty, weakness, and soreness when moving the injured area. During this period, you will find relief with controlled and small movements, and this technique will gradually heal your tissues. You need to ensure that you are moving the muscles in the right direction and pattern. The movements will heal the affected area while increasing the strength and flexibility of the damaged tissue.

Your movements should be frequent but gentle and do not include any weights. Exerting pressure while moving the muscles, tissues, or tendons will only make the situation worse. For best results, you need to repeat the movements every few hours. The intervals for the movements depend on the severity of your condition.

Conclusion

Even though your body will naturally heal you from minor acute soft tissue pain and injury, you should visit a pain management doctor for a thorough treatment. They will diagnose the condition of your injury through various tests. They will check the severity of the condition and advise proper treatment methods. If you do not experience any effective results after three to four weeks of the injury, consult with your doctor immediately.