Papers of the Week

More than 70 million Americans suffer from chronic pain; many cases are related to sports injuries. This type of injury often involves soft tissues (muscles, tendons, and ligaments). Direct-force injury (e.g., impact trauma) and indirect-force injury (e.g., repetitive motion) are normally the cause of strained muscles, sprained ligaments, and tendonitis. The standard of acute care is RICE [rest, ice, compression, and elevation] plus anti-inflammatory medication. While this regimen often relieves acute pain, the consequence of the long-term use is chronic pain due to un-remodeled scar-tissue formation. The goal of this article is to show how a combination of integrative modalities can be used to relieve the pain caused by such injuries and their sequelae.