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Stop the (March) Madness!
With the NCAA basketball tournament on the horizon, go ahead and enjoy a friendly pick-up game in the driveway – 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 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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