does ice reduce swelling - #26315
I am dealing with this nagging issue after I sprained my ankle playing basketball last weekend. Yeah, it was one of those embarrassing moments where I just tripped over my own feet, so dumb! Anyway, at the time, it hurt like crazy and was super swollen, so I remembered hearing somewhere that ice is good for stuff like that. After the game, I wrapped up my ankle with an ice pack for about 20 minutes on and off, mixed with some elevation as well. Now the thing is, I keep wondering, does ice reduce swelling like they say? I checked online, and the info seems kinda mixed. I mean, other people are telling me to do it for longer or even apply heat instead after a couple days. But I don’t want to mess it up, you know? Is there a right way to do it? Like, how often should I be icing it? And does the ice really help reduce swelling or is it all just a myth? I’m feeling frustrated because it’s been a week and I can still see some swelling. Just trying to figure out if I’m on the right track with this ice thing or if I should try something else. Any thoughts?
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