Why Is It Good To Ice An Injury

Ice is useful for any painful problems that affect your eyes. This is an acronym that means cold, burn, ache, and numb. So, these are the stages of the sensation that you’re going to feel when you’re icing the injury. What this means is that you’re going to first feel the injury area cold, then it’ll burn, then it’ll ache, and lastly, it’ll go numb.

This can significantly reduce inflammation, pain and swelling. Once there, these cells release IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor), and this hormone helps the damaged tissues rebuild, repair, and heal. Research indicates that applying ice to the injured area prevents the release of IGF-1 and ultimately, delays healing. The physician who coined the acronym “R.I.C.E” in the late 1970s has changed his stance on using ice on a sports injury. But in the 1970s we knew very little about the healing process.

The Bodys Natural Healing Response

With sub-specialty training in treating shoulders, knees, foot and ankle problems, the spine and a host of sports injuries, our physical therapists are experts in their field. They work with our physicians to rehabilitate patients, helping them move past mobility and pain limitations. If you’re experiencing pain or swelling that does not subside with appropriate ice or heat therapy methods at home, contact us at REBOUND. When you are injured, the blood vessels to the area dilate.

Ice is effective for reducing pain, but it doesn’t speed up the healing process or reduce inflammation. If you want a quick, medicine-free painkiller, feel free to use ice. But if you want to get back to training as soon as possible, ice fails where active recovery succeeds. To sum things up, inflammation is a normal thing and we need it to heal an injury.

When To Use Ice?

Whether you’ve experienced an injury or you want to prepare for the future, keep reading to learn more about the best ways to use ice and heat to treat pain and injuries. The ice actually helps your brain to focus on the cold rather than on the pain caused by the headache. This occurs because the cold constricts blood vessels which helps lessen the neurotransmission of pain.

That can be a tough call, but ice usually wins — but only for the first few days at most, and only if it really is a true muscle injury. A true muscle injury usually involves obvious trauma during intense effort, causing severe pain suddenly. If the muscle is truly torn, then use ice to take the edge off the inflammation at first. If after applying cold therapy to an injury and the swelling doesn’t go down in approximately two days, you should call your doctor. In general, it’s okay to use ice for as long as you have pain, swelling, and inflammation. A typical protocol is to apply ice for 10 minutes at a time once per hour for the first 72 hours.

When the skin is injured, then the problem is a bit more serious. When you get injuried, the inflammation is sure to last for some days. Fresh injuries are those that are still tender to touch, red and hot and swelling. When this happens, heat application should be avoided and ice be applied in order to reduce blood flow to the area and promote the immune response.

This reusable bag can be heated in the microwave for 60 seconds before use. You’ll find more detailed instructions on making this heat pack here. This simple, affordable, and relatively low-risk treatment can be performed in your own home to provide rapid and natural pain relief for all sorts of aches and pains. Dick Hartzell, author of Don’t Ice that Ankle Sprain, has seen baseball pitchers icing their shoulders.

Still, many experts advise that treatment should be tailored to the athlete. Functional rehab and balance training may be more effective than immobilization, particularly when in managing grade I and II ankle sprains. Verywell Fit articles are analyzed by board-certified physicians and nutrition and exercise healthcare professionals. Medical Analyzers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research.

If you are uncertain about your health history, consult a doctor first. This involves plunging oneself into a mixture of ice and water for 20 to 30 minutes. There are a variety of ways you can apply cold to your injury. However, there are some details to keep in mind to make the icing treatment safer and more effective. Heated whirlpools offer relief from joint pain or total-body soreness.

“If you ice less than 10 minutes, you’ll cool your skin, but there will be minimal effect on underlying muscle tissue,” Dykstra says. Place ice cubes and a cup of water into a plastic bag. When the injury starts to feel numb, it is time to remove the ice.

Alternating ice and heat is called contrasting therapy, and it’s especially common for arthritis patients. Ice helps reduce swelling and acute pain, and heat helps soothe stiff joints. If you have arthritis, you should work with your doctor to develop a treatment plan to manage your discomfort. So, how can you help an injury heal, all while keeping pain and inflammation down?

Icing an injury is not medication, it’s just an auxiliary help to heal the injury. To put it simply, when you have an injury, your body will send blood flow and cells to begin the healing process. The problem is that all that blood flow is responsible for the pain and the swelling. So, it really will depend on a case by case and the severity of the injury.

For example, you may experience lower back pain after a day of moving heavy objects. Working or studying in a seated positioncan lead to neck pain. Whatever the cause, applying heat to the tight or achy area should have a soothing effect and cause the muscle to loosen. If applied for too long, ice can also cause serious issues like frostbite. An ice pack is the most common of the three methods and is the best option if you are icing a large area such as a back spasm or swollen knee.