You step in a hole and turn your ankle, or tweak your knee. You throw too much and feel a twinge in your shoulder. You try to break your fall with your wrist. Acute injuries are easy to recognize: first comes the pain, and then comes the swelling. Chronic, or long term injuries, take weeks, sometimes even months, to develop, but it is the same story: first comes the pain, and then comes the swelling.
Swelling is a normal reaction of the body to an injury. In general, it is any abnormal enlargement of a body part. This can be due to fluid – including blood – bony malformation, muscle, or any number of things. Sometimes, though, the body goes overboard, and the inflammatory response is excessive and can actually begin to cause more damage than good. For more information on swelling and how to treat it, please visit the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Sports Medicine website: http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/swelling-bodys-reaction-to-injury
