What to Do After a Sprain or Strain?

Rolled your ankle? Pulled a hamstring? Strained a calf or hurt yourself playing sport?

Knowing what to do in the first few days after a soft tissue injury can make recovery feel a lot less confusing.

You may have heard of RICE – Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. More recent approaches to soft tissue injury management put greater emphasis on early, appropriate movement and gradually rebuilding strength and confidence.

One framework physiotherapists use is PEACE & LOVE – PEACE for the first few days after injury, followed by LOVE as you start your recovery.

What is a soft tissue injury?

Soft tissue injuries affect structures such as muscles, tendons and ligaments. They can happen suddenly – such as an ankle sprain, calf strain or pulled hamstring – or develop when a tissue is exposed to more load than it can currently tolerate.

Common symptoms include pain, swelling, bruising, stiffness, weakness or difficulty putting weight through the injured area.

Not sure how serious your injury is? A physiotherapist can assess what you’ve injured, how severe it is and what you should – and shouldn’t – be doing.

The first few days: give your injury PEACE

P – Protect
Reduce or modify activities that significantly aggravate your symptoms for the first few days. This doesn’t necessarily mean complete rest – the aim is to protect the injured area while avoiding unnecessary prolonged inactivity.

E – Elevate
If swelling is an issue, elevating the injured limb above heart level may help manage it.

A – Avoid unnecessary anti-inflammatory modalities
Inflammation is part of the body’s normal healing response. The PEACE & LOVE framework recommends being cautious about routinely suppressing inflammation after an acute soft tissue injury. If you’re considering medication, particularly if you have other medical conditions or take other medicines, speak with your doctor or pharmacist.

C – Compress
Compression using an appropriate bandage or support may help manage swelling following some injuries.

E – Educate
Understanding your injury is an important part of recovery. Your physio can explain what has happened, what to expect and how to gradually return to normal activity.

Then give it some LOVE

Once the initial injury begins to settle, the focus shifts towards movement, loading and getting you back to normal activity.

L – Load
Gradually reintroducing load helps muscles, tendons and ligaments regain their capacity. The right amount will depend on the injury and stage of healing.

O – Optimism
An injury can be frustrating, particularly when it stops you doing something you love. Understanding that most soft tissue injuries improve with appropriate management can help build confidence in moving again.

V – Vascularisation
Pain-free cardiovascular exercise can often be introduced as recovery progresses. Your physio can help determine what is appropriate for you.

E – Exercise
This is where rehabilitation really matters. The right exercises help restore movement, strength, balance and confidence and reduce the chance of the same problem happening again.

Should I ice a soft tissue injury?

This is probably the question people will actually Google, so I would definitely give it its own heading.

Ice can provide short-term pain relief for some people, but its role in improving tissue healing is less clear. The PEACE & LOVE framework questions routine icing because inflammation forms part of the body’s natural repair process.

So rather than automatically reaching for ice after every sprain or strain, the priority is to protect the injury appropriately, manage symptoms and gradually restore movement and load.

When should I see a physio?

You don’t necessarily need to wait and see if an injury gets better on its own.

An early assessment can be particularly useful if you have significant pain or swelling, difficulty walking or using the injured area, reduced movement or strength, aren’t sure what you’ve injured, or want to return to sport or exercise safely.

At Wisdom Physiotherapy, we’ll assess the injury, explain what’s going on and give you a clear plan for what to do next.

Injured yourself? Let’s get you moving.

Whether it’s a rolled ankle, muscle strain or sporting injury, we’ll help you understand what’s happened and guide you through your recovery.

Related articles