Your Chiropractor Knows: Is Icing Good For Injuries?

Staff Writer

When it comes to injury recovery, there are a lot of conflicting ideas about icing, and the old “RICE” acronym (rest, ice, compression, elevate) may be worth discussing. See what researchers are saying to do now with an injury and how your chiropractor can contribute to better injury recovery and overall better health.

The” Why” Behind Icing

First, we know ice is meant to constrict blood vessels and slow down inflammation to an injury. One question to explore is, “Why are we fighting the body’s response to injury when the body innately knows what to do?”

The inflammation that accumulates in response to an injury has some good stuff responsible for repairing the injury. If icing is done for too long, however, it could negatively affect tissue regeneration, according to Dr. James Tidball, from the University of California-Los Angeles.

Researchers are finding that movement and use of the injured area can promote the healing of the tissues. Gabe Mirken, who coined the term “RICE,” no longer recommends it and says getting the area moving again is better. He goes on to say that, ice is “the best pain medicine we have,” and it may be the best way to help people get the injured area moving because ice numbs it.

Chris Bleakly, a physical therapy professor, states that when you have an injury, the muscles surrounding that injury “turn off” to limit its mobility, but icing it helps to switch the muscles back on.

So, in this aspect, icing could also be a good thing for an injury. If you choose to ice – or if your chiropractor recommends it – the best rule to follow is C-B-A-N, which stands for the phases of what you feel when applying ice: Cold, Burning, Achy, and Numb. You must leave the ice on long enough to numb the area, usually about 15-20 minutes.

Once inflammation and the pain have started to decrease and mobility has returned slightly, know that consulting with a chiropractor for help returning the injured tissues to normal can be a great resource

If You DIY: Icing Best Practices

• Don’t apply directly to the skin
  Whether using a reusable ice pack or a bag of frozen vegetables, it’s important to use a thin towel as a barrier between the ice and your skin. This will increase your comfort and prevent damage to your skin.
• Short periods are better
  Aim for 10-15 minutes at a time with at least a 30-minute break between sessions. Repeat several times a day as needed.
• Try DIY massage
  If an area is small or difficult to target with a larger ice pack, try freezing a small paper cup of water. Once it is frozen, tear off the bottom of the cup, and massage the affected area for 5-10 minutes in a figure-eight pattern.
• The 24-48 rule
  Ice can be beneficial for the beginning stages of an injury, but research has shown that ice is no longer needed after 24-48 hours. Instead, it’s essential to restart gentle movements to help stimulate the healing of the tissues involved in the injury. If you cannot bear weight after 48 hours, it’s time to seek treatment.

Chiropractic Care Offers Help and Hope

To summarize, your chiropractor is your musculoskeletal specialist; they know there is a time and place for ice. Instead of propping up your injured area and icing it on and off all day, ice should be used to increase the function of the injury and allow the patient to get it moving again.

CUKC Chiropractic Health Center

Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC), founded in 1922, is a private, nonprofit, chiropractic and health science-focused university in Overland Park, Kansas. The CUKC on-campus Chiropractic Health Center is open to the public and treats patients from Kansas City’s 15-county metro area. Our goal is to provide chiropractic care and solutions for a better, more productive life for our patients.