With the number of sports injuries increasing due to the sunny weather, several doctors yesterday urged people not to overlook bruising and swelling of soft tissue as it can lead to more severe injuries that might impede mobility and cause chronic pain.
Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital’s Division of Orthopedics director Shih Kao-shang (釋高上) said a recent survey found that more than 80 percent of respondents work out regularly, with half of that figure exercising for at least three days per week.
“The most popular forms of exercise are jogging, cycling and playing basketball, all of which put participants at risk of sports injuries, such as those caused by collisions and falls,” Shih said at a news conference in Taipei yesterday morning.
Shih said that the number of people visiting his outpatient service for sports injuries has increased by 20 percent, with sprains and contusions being the most common types, and sports injuries accounting for more than 80 percent of all injuries.
Bruises and swelling of the soft tissue can cause sufferers to experience prolonged pain and impede their mobility if they continue to work out without treating the injuries, Shih said.
“If a ligament injury does not heal properly, it can lead to early onset of degenerative joint disease, while untreated contusions can cause tissue adhesion that can negatively affect the elasticity of muscle and result in chronic pain,” he said.
Taipei Chang Gung Memorial Hospital’s Division of Dermatology deputy director Henry Huang (黃耀立) advised people who sustained bruises and soft tissue injuries to adopt a four-step approach to healing.
“The first step is to apply a cold compress to injuries within eight hours to reduce swelling and pain. After making sure there is no open wound, one should apply ointments containing mucopolysaccharides to the injury to prevent inflammation and stimulate tissue regeneration,” Huang said.
Huang said the third step is to apply a warm compress to the injuries between eight and 48 hours after the injury.
People whose bruises and swelling have still not gone away should implement the fourth step and seek medical care to see if there are complications behind the delayed healing, such as blood diseases, Huang said.
EXPANSIONIST: China deploys an average of 40 to 50 warships and coast guard vessels daily in the South China Sea, despite pledges not to militarize the region, an official said China is attempting to expand its influence across the First Island Chain and increase pressure on Japan by sending coast guard vessels into waters off of Taiwan under the pretext of maritime negotiations with Japan and the Philippines, a national security official said yesterday. China’s recent actions in the waters east of Taiwan and Japan and the Philippines’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) are attempts to establish dominance in First Island Chain waters, said the official who declined to be named, adding that this is “expansion disguised as law enforcement.” Framing China’s actions solely as a cross-strait issue is a serious misjudgment that
EXCUSES: Beijing is using government and research vessels as a pretext to harass the nation and enter its EEZ, and engage in ‘hegemonic expansion,’ the coast guard said The Coast Guard Administration yesterday said it drove away Chinese oceanographic research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 22 (向陽紅33) from restricted waters after warning it that it was in Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Chinese vessel entered restricted waters off the coast of Yilan County’s Suao (蘇澳) at 11:35pm on Thursday, the coast guard said, adding that it dispatched the Lanyu patrol vessel and the boat PP-10077 to shadow the Chinese ship and issue radio warnings ordering it to leave. China has no sovereignty over waters off Taiwan’s east coast, Lanyu’s crew told Xiang Yang Hong 22 over the radio, and demanded
Several major reservoirs are estimated to have received 590 million tonnes of water inflow from June 4 to this morning, with storage levels at Wushantou Reservoir exceeding 50 percent and Zengwen Reservoir approaching 30 percent as of 9am today, data from the Water Resources Agency showed. Of the estimated 590 million tonnes, 450 million have already been stored in reservoirs, the data showed. As of 9am today, Baoshan Reservoir storage levels reached 100 percent, while Baoshan Second Reservoir, Yongheshan Reservoir and Techi Reservoir all exceeded 90 percent, data on the Water Resources Agency’s Web site showed. In addition, the Shimen Reservoir is at
BAIT AND SWITCH: Allowing KMT-run counties to sell to China while the threat of abrupt cancelations hangs overhead is another form of coercion, officials said Beijing is using agricultural purchase offers announced during the Straits Forum to deepen Taiwan’s dependence on the Chinese market, a Taiwanese official said yesterday as they criticized the Taitung County commissioner’s participation in the initiative. During the Straits Forum held in Xiamen on Saturday, Chinese officials announced a sales and purchase agreement for agricultural products from some counties led by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Taitung County Commissioner Yao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴), who was barred from attending the event in person by the Mainland Affairs Council, participated via video. Under the agreement, China would purchase atemoyas, pomeloes, tea and grouper harvested in Taitung,
RSS