It is intended to help relieve swelling and discomfort, and thus expedite the recovery process. RICE is an acronym for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Rest Resting the injured part can help relieve discomfort, avoids further injury, and can aid the healing process. Resting may involve decreasing weight bearing, splinting or diminishing stress to an injured part, for instance.
Ice Ice can provide pain relief to a sore area.
It also helps to control the leakage of fluid from blood and lymphatic vessels which causes swelling. It is typically recommended to apply ice for about 15 minutes at a time as often as possible. Compression Compressing an injured area helps squeeze out any swelling, and also helps to prevent further swelling from accumulating. An ace wrap is oftentimes used for this purpose. It is important to wrap the area distally to proximally, eg .