What's the science behind icing. Ice baths, Ice packs/wraps, Ice massages, that russian ultra marathoner who stands inside a deep freezer, how does it help recovery/prevention?
and while we're at it, why does heat treatment / hot tubs help/hurt?
What's the science behind icing. Ice baths, Ice packs/wraps, Ice massages, that russian ultra marathoner who stands inside a deep freezer, how does it help recovery/prevention?
and while we're at it, why does heat treatment / hot tubs help/hurt?
Ice reduces swelling in muscles and joints. The swelling is what causes pain in most cases. That's why ice and cold whirlpool treatment remain a staple in physical therapy for practically every sport. Hot whirlpool treatment is usually used to loosen a tight area before exercise to prevent further injury.
Also, in the re-warming process vessels and cappilaries expand to restore heat to the iced area which causes a "flushing" effect which can speed up removal of metabolic waste products and the healing process.
How does icing reduce swelling? What physically happens?
My understanding is the application of ice (or other cold substance) causes the capillaries and other vessels to constrict, reducing flow to the cold area and taking the fluid responsible for the swelling with it in the process. Basically the exact opposite of the physiology mentioned above in response to heat. Maybe someone else could explain it better than I.
Sort of like how a cold shower reduces swelling?
My understanding is that the cold from ice, ice water, etc. cause the muscle fibers to constrict, reducing swelling, and forcing out waste products accumulated in the muscles. Then, once the application of the cold is removed, fresh oxygen rich blood re-enters the muscle tissue, washing away the expelled wastes.
All I can tell you is that it works. When I started running 100 mile weeks, I was getting over-use pains all over. Once I started to sock up to my nuts in ice water for 20 min after all my runs, my legs don't hurt and feel better than ever.
Portland, while that cold shower might reduce the swelling, it tends to facilitate fluid production perjaps leading to injuries of "explosive" propotions (to yourself, or "training" partner) later...
when your swelling you have internal bleeding from some capillarie beds and whatnot. ice slows the bloodflow so it can stop the "rupture".
Ice treatments on injuries:
One applies ice to an injury during the first 48 hours afterwards. Ice causes the adjacent nerve cells to constrict local blood flow (vasoconstriction), which reduces swelling caused by edema (interstitial fluid) and/or hematoma (bleeding). Ice also reduces inflammation and pain. Now here's the important part: apply ice no longer than 10 minutes at a time. What happens is that prolonged exposure to cold caused the capillaries to open back up. You've all experienced this during the winter. When you go outside, initially your hands and face get cold, but soon, after ten minutes or so, your skin is flushed red and you begin to warm up again. There's nothing wrong with icing multiple times, but never do it more than ten minutes.
After the first 48 hours you can THEN use apply heat. Heat is meant for chronic (old) injuries, ice for acute (new) injuries.
I should add that after the first 48 hours and well into the chronic stage of an injury it's OK to continue the ice therapy - but - heat usually works better. Do both -especially if you are still running. At that stage you want the blood-flow to the injured tissue.
Why don't you ice my nuts?
I shot my \man-jucie on sara bei's forehead. I have proof.
so, assuming one had the time, would it serve well to repeat the process, such as an ice bath for 10 minutes, then a warm bath for 5-10, and repeat a couple of times? how many?
malmo is mostly right. However, it is fine to ice for longer than 10 minutes. The phenomenon you are referring to is the "Hunter's Response," where the vessels dilate again regardless of the presence of ice. This can occur after 20 minutes of icing. Therefore, most recommend icing for 15-20 minutes, but no longer than that. 10 minutes usually is not sufficient.
what about repeating the process? bad/good?
wait at least as long as you iced (ex.- 15m on, 15m off). repeating the process is fine as long as you wait between icings.
I think we are not talking about the same thing. For a new injury ten minutes is recommended. You'll find that physical therapists put an egg-timer at 10 minutes for a reason. For chronic (old) injuries, and ice bath therapy (the kind Paula Radcliffe does) it's recommended to go at least 20 minutes for the so-called "Hunter's Response". For a new injury vasodialation is what you don't need.
I think we are talking about the same thing. I don't know how often PT's see acute injuries just after they have happened, but I'm a certified athletic trainer and I deal with them all the time. While the hunter's response is generally illicited after 20 minutes, the most common time frame is 15 minutes for icing, whether acute or chronic.
Excellent article on this topic in Biomechanics magazine this month.:
http://www.biomech.com/current/cover.shtml
2 things that I took from the article are that crushed ice is the best way to ice an area and some areas require longer than 15 or 20 minutes to achieve the desired results.
Also, for acute injuries the theory is that ice helps due to decreasing the temperature of the tissue, leading to less consumption of oxygen in the area which minimizes damage to the injured cells.
The article does not discuss the routine use of ice except for a passing comment. It deals more with acute injuries.
BF
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