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

(www.scientificamerican.com)
611 points sohkamyung | 2 comments | 19 Feb 25 12:36 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | 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]▶
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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paulcole ◴[19 Feb 25 14:54 UTC] No.43102750[source]▶
> I think these are things that have to be considered for medical protocols

What makes you think those things haven't been considered?

The comment you replied to said, "the new guidance is..." I took that to mean those things have been considered.

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dfxm12 ◴[19 Feb 25 15:17 UTC] No.43102981{3}[source]▶
I mean considered per patient. Pro wrestler Kerry von Erich had to get his broken foot amputated because he thought it felt good enough to walk across the room to get a cheeseburger. Not everyone can gauge these things on their own, especially considering people with broken bones may be taking pain killers. Not everyone can have professionals, or even loved ones, around them to monitor it.
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1. darrenf ◴[19 Feb 25 15:31 UTC] No.43103134{4}[source]▶
> Pro wrestler Kerry von Erich had to get his broken foot amputated because he thought it felt good enough to walk across the room to get a cheeseburger.

Honestly, I don't think wrestlers -- certainly those from the von Erich era -- are beacons of authority when it comes to sensible recuperation/rehabilitation from injury. Kevin von Erich said it was due to his brother trying to get some food but there are other accounts:

> Moody says Kerry turned up on crutches and was feeling too much pain, so the doctors injected a liquid-type numbing painkiller on his injured foot so he could go on. The match went under 6 minutes with Kerry beating Adias, but according to Moody, even with his foot under a painkiller influence, Kerry still felt a lot of pain, which led to the amputation of his foot.

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2. dfxm12 ◴[19 Feb 25 16:02 UTC] No.43103573[source]▶
Maybe they aren't, but they also aren't unique in this regard. Obstinate tough guy types are obstinate no matter what their job is. I have neighbors and family members who had similar issues where the doctor says something like "you can walk, but take it easy" but they misjudge what "taking it easy" really means.