soaking a bruised ankle in hot water , what to add to water ?

[BKKdreaming]

I bruised my ankle and would like to soak it to get some pain relief and hopefully get it better,

Since I need to walk around it hurts some every evening , some days more than others if I have worked hard ,

Anyway I have a nice "foot" sized metal bucket , but is there anything worth adding to the hot water ?

salts ? or ?????

thanks for your ideas

[Brit_Doggie]

my momma lol cold or iced water and salt idk if it works or no but was good for her or maybe salt was cheap in bygone days.

Same as applying cold steak to a bruised eye to draw out the bruise.

Edited August 6, 2015 by Brit_Doggie

[DirtyDan]

ICE, not heat. and rest, stay off it for a while.

A little over-the-counter ibuprofen to help with any swelling.

[NancyL]

Elevate the foot and use ice packs.

[h90]

but when the accident is already a while ago, heat can also help, or not?

[Briggsy]

RICE

Rest

Ice

Compression

Elevation

However it sounds like it happened a week or so ago or even longer, so the damage may be done now.

[BKKdreaming]

Hi

no this has been going on for months , staying off my feet for a couple days is not going to happen so I thought a hot soak would help , just like a hot bath

and an ice bath seems like prison punishment !

[noahvail]

I was taught cold first, then heat. Hot water and mix in a handful of epsom salt. You consider getting an ankle brace for a while to stabilize it during the day. Pharmacies usually carry both.

[Briggsy]

Hi

no this has been going on for months , staying off my feet for a couple days is not going to happen so I thought a hot soak would help , just like a hot bath

and an ice bath seems like prison punishment !

Don't need an ice bath. Put some ice in a sock and place it on any enflamed or swollen areas on your ankle. Do not leave it in one spot more than 5 minutes as there is the potential for frostbite / capillary damage.

A brace or compression bandage will reduce the strain on the ankle joint while you are working or moving around.

Muscular training of the calf and shin muscles using a stretch band will also help to support the joint and improve range of movement.

As it happened months ago, you probably have some permanent instability in the joint.

[jeanpierre]

cheque for arthrose!!

[jeanpierre]

cheque for arthrose!!

[h90]

Hi

no this has been going on for months , staying off my feet for a couple days is not going to happen so I thought a hot soak would help , just like a hot bath

and an ice bath seems like prison punishment !

Don't need an ice bath. Put some ice in a sock and place it on any enflamed or swollen areas on your ankle. Do not leave it in one spot more than 5 minutes as there is the potential for frostbite / capillary damage.

A brace or compression bandage will reduce the strain on the ankle joint while you are working or moving around.

Muscular training of the calf and shin muscles using a stretch band will also help to support the joint and improve range of movement.

As it happened months ago, you probably have some permanent instability in the joint.

ankle heals very slow....after my last accident it need more than 1 year till it got perfect again

[h90]

Hi

no this has been going on for months , staying off my feet for a couple days is not going to happen so I thought a hot soak would help , just like a hot bath

and an ice bath seems like prison punishment !

well if only the ankle hurts you can leave the rest of your body outside the bath

[Motard]

Hi,2 buckets,1 ice water,2nd hot water as hot as you can stand.(Top up hot bucket with your kettle as you go)

Start with hot,wriggle your foot about 4/5 min then switch to cold 4/5.Continue 20 mins +. Topping up hot as you can.

This helps the blood and swelling to go away.Has worked well for over many years of motorcycle competing.

Regards Chris

[rijit]

Yep the hot water will promote blood flow and oxygen through the damagesd muscle and the cold will promote like -a 'scab' to form and heal over the damage. So repeating hot /cold will just increase the tempo of the healing process.

rijit

[ToddinChonburi]

ICE ICE ICE Then rest , you must have sprained it bad !! X RAY for maybe a small broken bone.

[Sheryl]

Actually you should apply ICE or cold packs, not hot water. Also ace bandage for compression and keep the foot elevated when you aren't up and about.

RICE = rest, ice, compression, elevation.

Heat is good for muscle spasms but not for bruising and sprains. In fact if applied recent to the injury, heat will worsen the bruising. Immediate application of ice will reduce or even avert the bruising.

[cooked]

I sprained, pulled and bruised just about every joint in my body. For me, it was ice initially, reduces the swelling and the pain. After that hot water foot baths combined with anti inflammatories.

[NYGuy816]

Try Epsom salt. It is populary used to relieve the pain.

[chubby]

after 72 hours from injury, heat is technically OK, however, if your up and about, you probably are reinjuring it , if your not then you can also try contrast baths, depends what your primary goal is

salt in cold water, probably will lower the temperature of the water iirc

[rijit]

after 72 hours from injury, heat is technically OK, however, if your up and about, you probably are reinjuring it , if your not then you can also try contrast baths, depends what your primary goal is

salt in cold water, probably will lower the temperature of the water iirc

Mmm thought it just reduced the time it took to boil. But i definatly could be wrong .

rijit

[nowretired]

Hi

no this has been going on for months , staying off my feet for a couple days is not going to happen so I thought a hot soak would help , just like a hot bath

and an ice bath seems like prison punishment !

If this problem has existed for months it is extremely unlikely to be a "bruise" which is causing the pain/disability.

You should seek medical advice to exclude arthritis/gout/significant ligament injury.

An x-ray would most likely be done.

If you wish to continue self treating then it would be worth attempting a trial of Ibuprofen.(Follow the instructions) coupled with a Scholl ankle support .

If you decide to seek medical help you should make an appointment with an Orthopaedic specialist.

Soaks of any description are unlikely to prove helpful

[Sheryl]

+1 to above. It is not a "bruise" if it has been for that long, something else is wrong and it needs to be professionally evaluated.