In the rehab continuum from immediate care to the subsequent management of soft tissue injuries, it's now standard practice that injuries simply need PEACE and LOVE, as proposed in the 2019 paper by Dubois and Esculier.
Immediately after a soft tissue injury, do no harm:
P - Protection: avoid activities that increase pain.
E - Elevation: elevate the injured limb higher than the heart as often as possible.
A - Avoid anti-inflammatories: avoid taking anti-inflammatory medications as they reduce tissue healing. Avoid icing.
C - Compression: use elastic banding or taping to reduce swelling.
E - Education: listen to your body. Active recovery beats passive treatment.
And after the first few days have passed:
L - Load: load early. Let pain guide your gradual return to activities.
O - Optimism: optimism can help.
V - Vascularisation: choose pain-free cardiovascular activities.
E - Exercise: restore mobility and strength.
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"Managing soft-tissue injuries is more than short-term damage control."
Source: Dubois B, Esculier J Soft-tissue injuries simply need PEACE and LOVE British Journal of Sports Medicine 2020;54:72-73.
