Bupa  

PRICE

stands for the following:

• Protect your injury from further harm.
• Rest the injury initially, then re-introduce movement so you don't lose too much muscle strength.
• Ice packs or a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel should be applied to your ankle to reduce swelling and bruising. You could also immerse your ankle in ice. You should not apply ice directly to your skin as it can give you an "ice burn" - place a cloth between the ice and skin.
• Compress your ankle by bandaging it to support the injury and help decrease swelling.
• Elevate your ankle by resting your foot above the level of your heart and keep it supported.

Further treatment will vary depending on the severity of your injury.

HARM

For the first 72 hours after an injury there are certain things that your shouldn't do. These can be remembered using HARM.

• Heat. Don't use heat packs, hot water bottles or heat rubs on the affected area, as well as saunas or hot baths. Heat encourages blood to flow to the area, the opposite effect of using ice.
• Alcohol. Don't drink alcohol because it can increase bleeding and swelling to the area, slowing down the healing process.
• Running or any other form of strenuous exercise. Such activities may cause more damage.
• Massage. Massaging the area can increase bleeding and swelling.