Q.In the PRICE protocol for the immediate management of a soft-tissue injury, the letter 'P' at the beginning stands for:

PRICE Acronym Purpose

Twist an ankle on the court, and what you do in the first twenty minutes affects how long it takes to get back on the field. P.R.I.C.E. is the standard first-aid protocol Physical Education teaches for exactly that moment — a modified, more specific version of the older R.I.C.E. approach, used for soft-tissue injuries such as sprains and strains.

What Each Letter Means

Protection — limit or avoid putting weight on the injured part. This can mean using crutches, a cane, or hiking poles to keep weight off an injured leg or ankle, or immobilising an injured arm with a sling, splint, or brace.

Rest — stop using the injured body part altogether. For a leg, knee, ankle, or foot injury, this usually means crutches; for an arm, elbow, wrist, or hand injury, a splint. Continuing to use an injured part delays healing and risks making the damage worse.

Ice — apply cold to the injury. Ice contracts the blood vessels near the injury, which helps stop internal bleeding and reduces swelling. Always keep a cloth between the skin and the ice pack to avoid an ice burn. The timing matters: no more than 15–20 minutes per application, repeated roughly every hour for 10–20 minutes at a time, and continued for as long as pain or inflammation persists.

Compression — wrap the injured area firmly (but not too tightly) with an elasticised bandage, sleeve, or cloth, often over the ice pack. This reduces swelling by limiting the fluid that seeps into the surrounding tissue. If the wrap causes numbness, tingling, or increased pain, it is too tight and should be loosened.

Elevation — raise the injured part above the level of the heart, using pillows or any available support. This uses gravity to reduce blood flow to the area and helps drain excess fluid, lowering both swelling and pain. …