How does icing help

To compensate, we produce organic compounds that help break down glucose without oxygen this is called an anaerobic metabolic process. Of these organic compounds, which linger in the bloodstream after intense exercise, lactic acid is widely believed to be the cause of muscle pain — however, this is controversial among physicians and certified fitness professionals. Ice is a vasoconstrictor. While the best solution would be to avoid injury altogether, knowing when to apply ice and heat is a simple not to mention affordable path to getting back to good health, fast.

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Freeze for at least an hour. During use, place a towel between the cold gel pack and bare skin. Directions: Fill your cloth container with the filling material. If desired, add soothing aromatherapy. Microwave the container for minutes. Test warmth before applying to avoid burns. Enter your email to stay up to date on the latest pediatric news.

Search for news, content, and more. It looks like your browser does not have JavaScript enabled. Therefore the best way to apply ice is crushed ice in a plastic bag applied directly to the skin, followed by quickly getting someone nearby to mop up the mess you have just created. Using crushed ice, our skin temperature can be reduced to our goal temperature within 5 minutes. If you are trying to achieve a decrease in tissue temperature at the injury site, the depth of the injured tissue and the amount of bodyfat the patient has are also factors in the length of time that ice is applied.

If you have an injured athlete that is very lean, with an injury close to the surface eg lateral ankle ligament injury, you may achieve this with shorter periods of ice.

If you have a patient that has a deeper injury eg within the hamstring muscle belly, and has some fat overlying the area, it will require much longer application of ice to reduce tissue temperature, and you may not even be able to reduce the temperature of your targeted tissue at all.

Padding is normally used to protect the skin from frostbite and ice injury. In the 35 studies that have applied ice directly to the skin, there have been no recorded skin injuries in clinical application. The only injuries have occurred are with application for 60 minutes at a time or if the patient has fallen asleep. Before applying ice, as with all treatments, you need to check the patient does not have any contraindications or precautions to ice application eg allergy to cold.

If crushed ice is applied directly to the skin, it is not comfortable, but it is very effective. If it is applied over bandages or dry towels, icing is ineffective. Algafly, A. The effect of cryotherapy on nerve conduction velocity, pain threshold and pain tolerance. You could cause further injury by icing and then exercising the muscle.

Icing the muscle will cause it to contract even more. For example, if your neck or back feels tight or stiff, heat is a much better option for relaxing the muscles.

Icing the area will likely do more harm than good. If your skin is compromised in any way, ask a doctor before you apply ice.

If the doctor approves it, take special care to keep a barrier of some kind between the ice and your healing skin. An example of cold hypersensitivity is cold-induced urticaria, which causes a person to break out in hives if exposed to cold. What Heat Does to the Body In many ways, heat has the opposite effect of ice. Whereas ice causes muscles to tighten and restricts blood flow, heat: Increases blood flow Relaxes muscles Heals damaged tissue Soothes aches Many things can cause your muscles to become stiff and painful.

Old injuries: Whereas ice is best to soothe new injuries, heat is typically best for nagging injuries that are still causing you pain. Soreness or aches: In general, if you would describe your pain as soreness or an achy feeling rather than a throbbing or sharp pain, heat is an excellent option to bring you some relief.

For example, arthritis patients may experience ongoing aches in their joints. In these cases, heat may help relax the muscle. For example, if your job causes you to experience chronic pain in your lower back, you can treat it with heat. Overuse injuries: Overuse injuries are one instance both ice and heat have in common. However, you should use heat to treat an overuse injury before you plan to use the affected area. Then, use ice after the activity. When You Should Not Use Heat We just looked at some instances where heat is an effective form of treatment, but there are other times when heat therapy can do more harm than good.

Heat can cause swelling to intensify instead of going down. Ice is a much better choice for new, acute injuries. On an open wound: This one goes for both ice and heat. Ask a doctor how you should proceed and cautiously follow their instructions. If you get overheated: If you have an elevated body temperature due to a high fever or heat stress of some kind, you should not apply heat to any part of your body. When your body is already hot, adding more heat will not help.

If you are pregnant: If you are pregnant, you can use heat to treat muscle aches in your back or other areas, but you should never apply heat directly to your abdomen. You should also refrain from full-body heat therapy, such as a sauna. Do: Wrap your ice pack in a towel or cloth to avoid direct contact with skin. Move your ice pack around every couple of minutes to avoid frostbite.

Ice an injury multiple times a day. Use a flexible ice pack to wrap around ankles, shoulders or other rounded areas.