When they say to 'ice' an injury...?

Question

How long should you be icing an injury? like how long should each icing session be and how frequent should they be? I sprained my ankle recently and was told to ice it, until it gets better. So i've been putting ice in a bag, and have had that wrapped up against my ankle for 20 minutes at a time. am i doing it right?

Answer 1

You only ice the injury at the begining like your doing to keep down the swelling. Then you usually put heat on it. You dont want to be icing it for weeks until it heals.

Answer 2

i always go 15 min off then 15 min on three times - so it will take about 1hour and 30 min

15 on - 15 0ff - 15 on -15 off - 15 on - 15 off

Answer 3

Even better is ice massage. Half fill a small (<8 oz/250 ml) wax paper cup with water and put it in the freezer. When it's frozen, tear the cup in spiral fashion to expose 1/2 in/1 cm of the ice. (What you're left with is in essence a really big ice cube which you can hold onto without freezing your hand.)

Rub the afflicted area in a circular motion. Keep a towel handy since there'll be a lot of melting. As you get numb, rub harder! Do sessions of 5-10 minutes as often during the day as you like.

If you've had a physician's diagnosis of *just* a sprain, it's typically OK to perform range-of-motion exercises after icing, or even to walk on it, *as long as you can maintain a normal gait.*

Indeed, *quickly returning to normal function* is proven to speed recovery. That's why you often see pro athletes getting a shot of ethyl chloride spray--which gets REALLY cold--and returning to the field immediately. (Of course, the trainer performing the evaluation and wielding the spray is him or herself a certified professional!)

Good luck!

Answer 4

Usually you want to ice for 10 to 15 minutes and then rest it for the same amount of time.

When the area is numb then you want to stop for a while.

You can ice for a few days while it is sore or swollen.

If you are using an ice bag do not use dry cold, wet the outside of the bag so it is wet. The dry cold may burn the skin.

Answer 5

like 20 or 30 minutes is fine. you can do it every few hours.