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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    How often should I ice a sprained muscle?

    Related Topic
    Sports Injuries & Prevention
    I sprained my ankle yesterday at football practice… how often should I apply ice?
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  • Ann Wu

    Physiotherapist

    Ann is a sports physiotherapist specialising in all sporting injuries from foot injuries through to knee pain and sports related back and neck pain.Ann has … View Profile

    You should apply ice for 20 minutes every 2- 3 hours for the first 48 - 72 hours.
    You should also book in to see a physiotherapist and get the injury assessed - to begin rehabilitation and return to play as soon as possible.

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  • Jonathan Harris

    Physiotherapist

    Jonathan Harris is a Titled Sports and Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist having achieved Master Degrees in both fields. As well as his undergraduate Physiotherapy degree he also … View Profile

    The standard protocol is R.I.C.E. (Rest / Ice / Compression / Elevation) for 48 hours.  With regard to your ‘ice’ question, it is suitable to apply ice for 10 minutes and then tiake it off for 20 minutes for all your waking hours.  Make sure you have some towel between the ice and your skin.  The ice should not increase pain…if it does, you might be making your skin too cold too quickly so just put another layer of towel in between the ice and your skin. Hope this helps. Regards, jono.

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  • Mark Cassidy

    Physiotherapist

    Hervey Bay's only Sports Physiotherapist. Over 25 years experience and a passion for all sport and keeping people fit and in the game.Has worked at … View Profile

    Ice should be applied for 20minutes every 2 hours. It is an important part of Ice treatment to let the body part return to normal temperature, before icing again. You should  continue icing treatment until there is no warmth in the affected area and swelling has started to settle. If it doesn't settle down in a few days the most important thing is to make sure that it is assessed properly to ensure that there is no fracture or major ligament damage.

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  • Dr Nicholas Miller

    Chiropractor

    Special interest include; Wellnes,nutrition, physical exercise, headaches and sports injuries. My aim is to improve the wellness and health of all my clients. View Profile

    20 minutes every 2 hours is a great protocol to follow especially during the acute phase (first 24-48 hrs). This may be great if you have the ability to rest ice and elevate. But it the real world any opportunit you particularly at the end of the day after you have been on your feet all day. This will help reduce inflammation pain and swelling. If you are young and would like to continue playing soccer i would definately recommended getting it assessed by physiotherapist or chiropractor. They will be able to create a rehabilitation program to improve support healing and ensure stabilty to the area returns.

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