Are you a sports fan? Do you watch football, baseball, or basketball on the tube?

When a player gets injured during a game, whether it's a knee or an ankle or a back injury, what is the very first thing that the trainers do for the player? In a word...ICE! They apply ice to the injury as quickly as they can.

Do you know why the trainers want to get ice on an injury so quickly? Its because ice prevents swelling.

Swelling will only add to the problem, and the more swelling that can be prevented, the quicker the injury will heal.

Back strains happen. They can happen anywhere, anytime, and to anybody.

A back strain can happen when a person leans over to pick up a small object off of the floor or when they bend from the waist and lift a heavier object.

The first measure that should be taken when a back strain happens for whatever reason is that ice should be applied and it should be done as soon after the strain occurs as possible.

Another thing that you see when players are injured while playing sports is the trainers stretching them on the sidelines.

Many of these professional sports trainers are chiropractors. They know how to stretch muscles to relieve pain immediately.

You should never try to use stretching techniques yourself on an injured person. The best thing to do is to get them to a chiropractor as soon as possible.

Here we are only talking about minor back injuries, of course. We aren't talking about serious injuries like those that could be sustained in diving accidents. Those kinds of injuries require immediate professional care.

You should never attempt to administer any kind of first aid unless you are trained to do so when injuries are serious and life-threatening. You could well do more harm than good.