Ice pack on the injured ankle, with rest and elevated position.
An ice pack such as the one above, or a plastic bag with melting ice inside should be wrapped in a thin layer of cloth or fabric as the cold temperature can make the plastic stick to the skin. The ice pack should be:
These three steps should be repeated three times a day. Warnings: Reasons and places you must NOT use ice:
Compression bandage with the ankle in an elevated position.
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IMPORTANT
this website is meant for information purposes only and is NOT intended as a replacement for proper medical care. If you cannot walk more than four steps on your injured ankle or there is severe swelling or bruising, or if you are at all concerned, you should always seek medical attention. PRICE or POLICE!! You will probably have heard of the RICE acronym, standing for Rest Ice Compression Elevation This is added to slightly, especially in lower limb injuries, to make PRICE, with a P standing for Protection. This means that with an ankle injury you should:
POLICE is a new acronym on the same basis, the P stands for protection, as before and OL stands for optimal loading. This essentially means for an ankle injury, once you have seen a medical professional, if you can put some weight through it, you should try to, because research suggests it will reduce healing time and hasten return to normal function and sport. The compression bandage, left, should be applied from the toes upward motion, overlapping by about half the bandage width each time, in a circular pattern around the foot and forming a figure of eight at the level of the ankle, then circular again on the lower leg.
The toes should be uncovered so that adequate blood flow to the foot can be checked for and maintained. (Done by regularly checking the toes are not turning bluish or dusky/dark, checking that the athlete's toes have not become numb, and that when the largest toe is squeezed on the nail for 5 seconds,so it whitens, or blanches, the colour returns within 2 seconds). |