What to do for new injuries?

This advice is for new injuries only.  It is not a substitute for the advice of a medical professional.

If you have injured yourself in the last 72 hours you should:

1. Keep moving
2. Put ice on the injury for 10 minutes at a time
3. Don’t panic
4. Bed rest is not recommended

If you are worried there may be something more serious underlying your pain, these are some rare symptoms but can be warning signs – if you have any of these, you should see a doctor:

1. Fever and feeling unwell
2. If your injury was traumatic and you could have a fracture e.g. a fall or RTA
3. Loss of bowel or bladder control
4. Difficulty passing urine
5. Numbness or tingling in your genitals or buttock area
6. Impaired sexual function
7. Loss of power in your legs
8. Excessive, unusual sweating during the night

Watch this short video for advice on what to do if you have acute pain.

You can find out a lot more about back pain on the resources page.