Injury means harm to any part of the body. Injury may arise from a wide variety of causes. This article is about the physical injuries that  damage one or more of the tissues that surround bones and joints (ligaments, tendons, or muscles). Soft-tissue injuries include ligament sprain, tendonitis (inflammation of a tendon), and muscle tears.
    Many injuries are given a sports prefix to their names, but can also be caused by something unrelated to sports. For example, tennis elbow is a type of overuse injury that may occur from playing tennis or from an activity like sawing wood.
    Chinese medical treatments are very effective for a wide range of soft-tissue injuries including muscle pulls, neck pains, shoulder injury, lower back strain, tennis elbow, runner’s knee, shin splints, ankle sprains, Achilles tendonitis, and arch pain.
    The treatments include acupuncture, cupping, herbal application formulas, TuiNa (Chinese therapeutic massage) and oral ingestion of herbal medicines. The method or formula used will depend on the severity of the injury and how long ago it occurred.
Treatment Principles
and Usual Methods:
    For new injuries within 1-2 days: the therapeutic principle is to stanch bleeding, disperse swelling, relieve pain and clear heat.
    For injuries after two days: the therapeutic principle is to soothe the channels and quicken the network vessels to transform stasis and move the blood to disperse swelling, relieve pain and repair soft-tissue.
    Recurrence of discomfort or chronic pain from an old injury: the treatment principle is to warm the channels and free the network vessels, dispel wind, eliminate dampness and dissipate cold, and strengthen sinew and bone.
     From the Chinese medical point of view, the use of ice packs is only appropriate right after injury or when there is redness, swelling, heat and pain. Otherwise, don’t use ice packs, especially for a pain where there is no heat. Improper use of ice packs may cause chronic pain.