How an injury is like a pebble tossed in a still lake

I have been thinking about how I explain to clients what is happening in their body when soft tissue is injured. One way I describe a new or fresh soft tissue injury is like a pebble thrown into the middle of a still lake.  Think about it - skipping pebbles at the lake. "See" what happens when it "plops".  An injury is just like this.  It often starts as just a very tiny circle. As the minutes and hours pass an injury grows like the circles in the lake from the initial "plop" of the tossed pebble.

Injuries grow immediately through involvement of cell after cell after nerve, muscle, and tendon or ligament fiber. Biochemicals gather about the injury to wall it off from the rest of the body, producing swelling and inflammation as a "warning" not to use the injured part. This process is not necessary today as we, unlike the caveman, have no need to keep fighting, surviving, or using the injured appendage. Still the injury grows, involving more and more tissue. It rapidly swells and becomes painful.

What to Do?

If you have a regenerative electrotherapy device like a SCENAR you would treat yourself immediately. Yes, home units are available. I see the day when we will all have one in our home. They are not complicated to use and they are worth it over your lifetime. Actually my experience is that most people get their return on investment with one, maybe two injuries or issues. Better a SCENAR in your home than a bottle of pills given their side effect profiles.

The sooner a regenerative electrotherapy modality like SCENAR is applied the sooner an injury can be repaired. It could be as soon as overnight if applied the same day as the injury. Really.

If you don’t have a SCENAR

Alright, so you don’t have your own SCENAR yet. Well, this is the injury that might make you say “now”. What you need to do is immediately, within minutes, sit or lie down and apply ice to try to stop the progression of the injury. Use ice for 20 minutes several times during the day of the injury. Taking an anti-inflammatory several times the first couple of days of the injury can also be useful. Rest the injury!

This approach will certainly help your body as it self repairs. It will take longer; significantly longer than if you use a SCENAR. So, pick up the phone. Order your SCENAR. You will be glad you did. 619-501-3752. Ask for Kay.