The first 48 hours after a sports injury
What you do in the first two days after an acute injury affects how the next six weeks go. The advice has changed over the years, and some of what is still repeated at local clubs is out of date.
Protect, then move
Complete rest is no longer recommended beyond the first day or two. Early, pain-guided movement produces better outcomes than immobilisation for most soft tissue injuries. The goal is to protect the tissue from further damage while keeping it moving within comfort.
Ice: modest and optional
Ice reduces pain, which is useful. The evidence that it speeds healing is weak, and prolonged icing may actually blunt the inflammatory processes that drive repair. Use it for comfort in the first day or two if it helps, not as a treatment.
Compression and elevation
Both help manage swelling and are low-risk. Worth doing for an ankle or knee that has swollen quickly.
Avoid in the first 48 hours
Heat, alcohol, and aggressive massage of the injured tissue. All three increase bleeding and swelling in the acute phase. Heat is genuinely useful later — just not yet.
Go to hospital, not us, if
The joint is obviously deformed, you cannot bear any weight, the joint gives way completely, there is numbness or loss of circulation, or you had a head knock with confusion, memory loss or vomiting. Also any back injury with numbness around the groin or changes to bladder or bowel control.
When to come in
For most soft tissue injuries, within the first few days is ideal — early assessment establishes what actually happened and sets the loading plan. Our sports injuries page covers what a first appointment involves.
What a first appointment looks like
We start with what actually happened and what the demands of your sport are, then assess the injured area alongside the joints and muscles above and below it — because the painful structure is often not the limiting one. You get a diagnosis, a realistic timeframe, and a plan that accounts for your training and match schedule rather than assuming you can stop. If we think you need imaging or another practitioner, we will say so at that first visit rather than after six sessions.
Booking in
We are at 5/6-8 Langmore Lane, Berwick, with street parking directly outside and same-week appointments most weeks. Initial consultations are 60 minutes and $149, with private health rebates processed on the spot via HICAPS. No referral is required, and we also work with WorkCover, DVA and Medicare care plans where they apply.
Book an initial consultation at RISE Sports & Spinal in Berwick. Clear diagnosis, hands-on treatment, and a plan that actually gets you better.
