Be careful of a misstep, it will lead to eternal regret! The correct way to deal with a sprained ankle, many people do it wrong

What should you do if you accidentally sprain your ankle? After an ankle sprain occurs, many people's first reaction is to move their ankle and ignore it, thinking it is just a minor injury.

But an ankle sprain is not a trivial matter. Although there is no fracture, the lateral ligament may have been torn, resulting in habitual ankle sprains. Some people even sprain their ankle several times a year, while others will suffer from ankle pain.

How should you properly deal with a sprained ankle? Next, an expert from the Department of Orthopedics at Hunan Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine will tell you how to deal with it.

1. Braking

Stop walking immediately to give the injured ankle a rest, thereby alleviating the pain and discomfort caused by the injury. Some people walk in pain after spraining their ankle, thinking that they can just move around. This is a wrong idea. Walking or moving in pain will aggravate the injury and is not conducive to the recovery of the injured tissue.

2. Cold compress

You can put an ice pack or other low-temperature items on the injured ankle joint to reduce the local temperature. The purpose of cold compress is to shrink the capillaries in the injured area, reduce bleeding and exudation, and prevent local swelling. At the same time, cold compress can relieve pain.

How long should I apply cold compress?

Cold compress should be applied immediately after injury and generally last for 1-3 days. That is, within 48 to 72 hours after injury, the injured area does not need hot compress, but cold compress is used to relieve pain and prevent swelling.

3. Pressure bandage and fixation

The purpose is to compress the damaged blood vessels by wrapping a bandage locally, reduce bleeding and exudation, and thus reduce tissue swelling and pain. At the same time, the pressure bandage also plays a role in local fixation of the ankle joint, which can reduce pain and tissue re-injury caused by local instability or activity.

Source: Department of Orthopedics, Hunan Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine

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(Edited by YT)