ouch! glad u were still able to win at swo but wat i do is ice for the first day then after that heat or i just forget about it and i dont ever push though it cuz i could hurt myself more

That's smart! make sure though that you put heat on it too, to help the muscles not tense up from the ice. If you only ice the area you hurt will stiffen up.

tht's really good advice when i sprained my ankle back in october i was in gym class my ankle went to the side and i literly heared a crunch and the nuse said i was out of commision for at least a week! so i didnt take class that night so in the training room i balenced on my good leg and idi repeat front kicks without putting my foot down.so it wasn't too bad and a few days later i had a regional tournament at a high school and where i was going to be tested in the gym the floors were so slippery i had to take my bandage off but in the end i got 2 throphies not bad for a yellow belt huh? now i reccently became a blue belt and now all i do is pull muscles like my shoulders and sometimes i feel an ache in one of my hips. for my pulled muscles i use salonpas but what else should i do?

Yea, back in october I fell doing a handstand into a front tuck and I though I spained my ankle and it turned out that I broke the back of my ankle. Now I have been out of commision for a month. I did all the icing,heat, and putting a braceand pushing trough the pain when I thought it was spained but I would also suggest with and sports injury get it checked out. Sometimes get a second opinion just incase because when I fell the pain was continual and I was to a Med Express and they told me it was sprianed but after their recommened resting time and after wearing the the brace they gave me my ankle didnt get better and I was still working out and I went and got a secong opinion and I found out I made the break worse working out. All in all I thnk all the advice above great! But I would play it safe, especially doing matial arts, and get a second opinion just to insure its only sometime minor.

A physical trainer/paramedic/blackbelt friend of mine gave me some common, but usefulk advice, R.I.C.E. = rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

ALWAYS get it checked!!!! even if it doesn't seem bad. I blew my knee out 15 years ago doing flying sidekicks over 6 Wavemaster tops and it came back to haunt me. One knee surgery later I am back to 100% but it could have been bad! I got lucky! As Martial Artists we ALL tend to be hard headed when it comes to injuries. suck it up and get it checked out!

Using heat is incorrect!!!
I have studies sports medicine at university. Heat is only if you have pulled a muscle and you would like to increase blood flow to help reduce the pain. If you injure yourself it is best to stop what you are doing and apply ice (RICE/R = Rest your body, so lie down, Ice = apply ice, Compression = use a bandage and compress the ice onto injured area so dont just place the ice. Make sure you do not apply ice directly onto your skin as you may lead to frost bite, wrap in a damp tea towel, Evelvation = elevate injured limb over head level when lying or sitting down, and Referal = see a doctor or physio).

Apply for 20mins every 2 hours on the first day and then 20 mins every 4 hours on the 2nd and 3rd day. You should also see a doctor and get an x-ray to make sure you have not damaged your bones. You may need further scans such as a bone scan, CT, or ultra sound, depending on the type of injury. See a physiotherapist to help with recovery and strengthening exercises.

Never push through pain, i did that with my shin, and ended up cracking my shin (tibia) and was out of training for a year. Rest and protein are the keys to recovery

Hope this helps.