“How to ice and heat a broken ankle?”

Apply ice to the ankle for the first 24 hours. Put ice cubes in a plastic bag and add a small amount of water to the ice. Wrap the bag in a towel and place on or against the ankle. After 24 hours, alternate 20 minutes ice, 20 minutes heat (a heating pad works well for this), and 20 minutes nothing and repeat.

Do not apply heat to an injury that is more than 24 hrs. If your ankle is broken, you will need immediate treatment.

Patient profile.

He needs to be seen by a doctor for a broken ankle. Ice is best done for swelling, do not recommend heat for a break.

Ice for broken bones, no heat. Ice with a towel between bare skin and ice for 15-20 intervals to reduce swelling. Ice will not help much after the first few days of injury.

Please, do not treat a broken ankle by yourself. Go to your doctor ASAP if you have one or schedule with me. This will progress if left untreated. There are multiple conservative options that work very well. Please, make an appointment with me in my Chandler office (480) 269-7130 and I will go over all of your options. Depending on Xrays (if needed) that I can take at my office and the clinical exam, I am able to diagnose and recommend different treatment options. I recommend you have this checked as soon as you can, especially since I can usually treat this without surgery very well in just one visit with me. My office is located on Dobson Road, just north of Chandler Regional Hospital. Advanced Foot & Ankle Specialists of Arizona. Feel free to ask to be seen by me specifically and I will get you in the same day or the latest the next day. I take all insurances, please do not go off of the insurance list on this website as it is not updated yet. Mention that I have talked to you on the internet. I can also do the entire visit with you over the phone or video call as well, which most insurances cover, even if you are out of state and my staff can verify this for you when you schedule. Thank you and have a good evening.

Generally ice is used for an acute injury to keep swelling to a minimum by decreasing blood flow and then heat is used for a chronic or older injury to increase blood flow and help the soft tissue healing.

I would recommend evaluation by a foot and ankle surgeon (podiatrist) to ensure appropriate treatment and diagnosis. I would ice approximately 10 minutes on and 20 minutes off to keep swelling down to start. Further recommendations after evaluation

If the ankle is in a cast, the most effective way to cool the blood going to the area is to ice behind his knee. If there is no cast, ice directly over the area. Icing should be performed every 2 hours or so for 15-30 minutes. He should also elevated the leg and not put pressure on the foot or ankle-limit activity.

For a broken bone, you would want to ice for the first 5 days, 20 mins out of each hour as needed.