difficult. The muscle swells, but this is
primarily due to the overstrain of the nerves in the sudden effort they
make to bear a crushing load on the muscle. The pain is from pressure
in the swelling, and also from inflammatory action.

The cure, then, must be applied to the motor nerves controlling the
muscles, and is best applied at their roots in the spinal cord. If the
arm, hand, or wrist be sprained, rub gently the upper spinal region
with warm olive oil, continuing the rubbing _gently_ down the arm to
the injured part (_see_ Rubbing) until the whole shoulder and arm glow
with comfortable warmth. But all rubbing such as causes pain must be
avoided. If such rubbing cannot be managed, then a hot BRAN POULTICE
(_see_) must be placed between the shoulders, and a warm fomentation
given to the shoulder and arm. The treatment should be given once a
day, and ere many days the sprain should be cured. For ankle and knee
sprains, the lower back and leg must be treated on similar principles.

Where the chest muscles that cover the ribs are sprained, rubbing and
moist heat should be applied over the back and round the side where the
sprain is, paying especial attention to the spine opposite the sprain,
and using hot olive oil before fomentation and after, as well as to rub
with.

If the belly be sprained, similar treatment should be given lower down
the back.

If the back muscles are sprained, then the same treatment should be
applied, taking special care to stimulate with moist heat and rubbing
the part of the spine on a level with the injury, where the roots of
the nerves lie which supply the sprained muscles. Care must ever be
taken to avoid giving pain--to give pain is to increase the injury. To
produce a glow of heat all through the parts is to cure it. (_See_
Muscular Pains.)

For a sprained heel, when there is some degree of inflammation about
it, we should pack the whole foot in fine soap lather. Let it be in
this all night, and also during the day when resting. Wash the foot
with a little weak acetic acid, after being packed in the lather, to
keep it quite clean. Now rub the whole limb from the ankle upwards in
such a way as to press the blood onwards in the veins. Use a little
oil, so that the skin may not suffer till a fine heat is raised in the
whole limb. This may be done for a quarter-of-an-hour twice or thrice a
day. It relieves the heel of all congestion, and lets good arterial
blood flow to it, as it wou