With the NCAA basketball tournament coming to a close, you may be inspired to enjoy a friendly pick-up game in the driveway—and why not? It’s great exercise. But if the competition gets a little too physical, handle painful ankle strains, twists, and sprains with a little RICE:
Rest it. As soon as you feel pain, get off your feet and get some rest. Even gentle walking on a sprained ankle will probably make the swelling and inflammation worse.
Ice it. Immediately apply an ice pack to the place it hurts most. Wrap some ice cubes in a small towel and hold them on your ankle for about 20 minutes. Remove the ice, wait 2 hours, then ice it again.
Compress it. Wrap the ankle with an elastic bandage. Make it snug, but not so tight that you can’t slip a finger underneath.
Elevate it. Raising your leg above the level of your heart helps fluids drain out of the ankle, which controls swelling.
An injured ankle will usually feel better after a few days of RICE and a whole lot of TLC. But serious damage requires an x-ray or other tests to determine how bad the injury is. It’s always a good idea to have a doctor check out ankle injuries that cause a lot of swelling or don’t get better within a few days.
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