Ice, however, decreases the
swelling in damaged tissues, allowing the blood to flow in a less restricted
manner. Additionally, because the area
becomes cold enough to concern the body, it will actually shunt more blood
through the injured area in an attempt to warm it up again, thus providing an
excess of the oxygen and nutrients which, in turn, allows the body to perform
the highest quality healing possible.
Also, ice provides other benefits which include pain reduction due to
the numbing effect, and muscle relaxation as the area warms after the ice is
removed.
The area in which I part
company with current schools of thought on cryotherapy is in the length of time
for which it is beneficial. I have read
that application of cold is only necessary for anywhere from three days to two
weeks following injury, depending on the source. My personal experience indicates that this is
incorrect. I believe that ice continues
to have value for as long as the pain and discomfort persists – my patients
report continued observable improvement long beyond the two-week limit. I can only explain this with the possibility
that the body interprets the pain as continuing injury and responds by
maintaining the swelling, internally, even if no longer visible externally.
For ice only: 15-20 minutes on and 45 minutes off before
repeating. As you may have already
deduced, whether ice or heat, the benefit comes after it is
removed and the body attempts to restore itself to correct temperature. At least 15 minutes is necessary to trigger
the full effect, but anything beyond 20 minutes is a waste of time. I do have some patients who choose to leave
the ice on until it melts, or even fall asleep with it on, because of the lack
of pain while it is numb (I don’t see a problem with this as long as you don’t
get frostbite).
BTW Icy Hot®, Biofreeze®, etc. are better than nothing
when you can’t use ice, but they don’t replace ice.
Getting rid of your pain,
Dr. Steven Ray, Chiropractor
Val Vista Chiropractic
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