system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why is swelling as a response to an injury a bad thing?

I've been rehabbing a grade 3 ankle sprain, and I've been following R.I.C.E. as closely as one usually can. (Rest. Ice. Compress. Elevate.) 

It would seem to me that we are pretty finely tuned from an evolutionary standpoint, and if my body wants to swell when it faces trauma, then there must be SOME benefit to it. Why is this a natural reaction that we have deemed as unhelpful?  I'm not questioning that I should do continue to do it, because I have experienced the benefits of this method of healing in the past, but I (as a complete laymen in the medical field) would just like to understand why it works, and why my body reacts in this way if it isn't beneficial to me.
gpt
Swelling isn't a bad thing, it's actually a good thing.  Swelling is basicaly a sign of increased blood flow to an area of the body so it can heal it's self faster.  That being said, swelling is inconvenient, it increases sensitivity to the area, can reduce or eliminate functions of body parts, and can even be painful sometimes.  So instead of suffering through the pain and losing function of body parts we develop ways to stop or eliminate swelling because it's more convenient for us to have use of said body parts and let the healing take a little longer.  We can afford to forgo the swelling and pain and let our injuries take a little longer to heal; where as our ancestors needed to be able to heal as quickly as possible because their lives usually depended on them being healthy and able to hunt and avoid predators.