Broken legs and ankles heal better if you walk on them within weeks

(www.scientificamerican.com)

611 points sohkamyung | 1 comments | 19 Feb 25 12:36 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source

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faitswulff ◴[19 Feb 25 14:20 UTC] No.43102422[source]▶

If anyone's heard of RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) for healing joints, the new guidance is called POLICE: Protect, Optimal Load, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. The key differences being Protect and Optimal Load, meaning don't re-injure it and expose it to some level of weight-bearing or usage.

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dfxm12 ◴[19 Feb 25 14:31 UTC] No.43102512[source]▶

>>43102422 #

Anyone can RICE their joints. It's foolproof, more or less objective and requires no monitoring from a professional.

What defines optimal load? It sounds impossible to gauge, unless maybe if you're working with a physical therapist. Then, what happens if load more than the optimal level? Is the outcome worse than if you just stuck to RICE? I think these are things that have to be considered for medical protocols.

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1. lwarfield ◴[19 Feb 25 14:56 UTC] No.43102762[source]▶

>>43102512 #

When I broke a joint in my pinky a few years ago it was pretty easy to tell. Early on the range of motion was the limiting factor, and I'd move it back and forth as much as I could without any pain. After that I worked on strength in a similar way, do as much as I can with no pain. I went from "you'll never play an instrument again" to rock climbing and Viola practice.

Overall, seeing my strength and range of motion slowly get better was immensely satisfying and your body is pretty good at letting you know when you're getting close to a limit.

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