We’ve all been there. Rolling the ankle the day before a big game. It’s the biggest pain in the arse. You go home, you google ‘how to fix a swollen ankle’, you follow the R.I.C.E. protocol and you cross your fingers. You wake up the next day and the swelling’s gone down but not enough for you to play. You’re out of the game. Gutted.
Anyone who googles ‘how to fix a swollen ankle’ will get this ‘featured snippet’ from the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society. This means that Google has programatically determined this is a useful answer.
Which it is, but only up to an amateurish point. But what do the superstars do? And what if you could do the same?
For this lesson, we turn to basketball legend Michael Jordan. In the playoffs in 1993, Jordan’s Chicago Bulls came up against the Atlanta Hawks. The day before the game, Jordan turned his ankle and it looked impossible for him to recover in time. But Jordan’s coach at the time, Tim Grover, knew what to do.
Jordan recovered and scored 39 points. How?!
The Michael Jordon Ankle Protocol
The answer goes against convention. Instead of using ice, you should use contrast therapy. The reason it’s a superior approach is because at first cold reduces the inflammation, but by intervening with room temperature water, the ankle doesn’t get cold enough to reduce circulation, so healing can still take place. It’s the best of both worlds.
You need two buckets. One with iced water and one with water at room temperature. Alternate one minute between buckets for as long as you can stand it before it’s time to go to bed. Switching between the expansion and contraction of blood vessels creates a pumping effect, which helps to push fluid out of the injured area.
This can be uncomfortable, and I wouldn’t recommend anyone attempts to play while injured. But you’re your own person and if it’s a game you’re really desperate to play in, it’s worth a shot.
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