PEACE and LOVE: your recovery acronym has changed from the days of RICE and PRICE
The British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) has radically rethought the long-held belief that soft
tissue injuries are best managed by the acronyms that have evolved over the last few decades,
namely ICE (Ice, Compression, Elevation) and RICE (add Rest) and PRICE (add Protection) and even
POLICE (which removes Rest, adding Optimal Loading).
The BJSM now recommends giving your soft tissue injuries PEACE and LOVE, recommending
treatment in two distinct stages. In the first few days, post-injury…….
Protection, which means avoiding activity that increases pain.
Elevation (as before).
Avoid anti-inflammatories and ice as these reduce the healing blood flow to the injured area.
Compression involves using tape or bandage to reduce the swelling.
Education suggests avoiding other treatments and letting nature take its course.
And then, once your body tells you it is ready to move more…………..
Load means gradually increasing the load to the area, being guided by your pain.
Optimism – take a positive, active approach to your return to fitness.
Vascularisation means using pain-free cardio to increase blood flow to the affected area.
Exercise – again, improve strength and mobility by adopting an active approach.
At Grosvenor, we are pleased to see this change. We have always recommended a positive
approach to injury rehabilitation. We particularly like the two-stage concept, which recognises that
your recovery journey needs different elements at different times. And we like the recommendation to avoid anti-inflammatories and ice. This makes complete sense.
If you think about it, whilst these interventions reduce swelling and perhaps pain in the short term,
in restricting blood flow to the affected area, they slow the long-term healing process.
As always, if you have any questions about this subject, please do not hesitate to talk to you your
regular therapist or to send us a message at any time.
