ice may no longer be the treatment of choice for injuries. www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz

This recent article ( see link below - although you may have to copy and paste this into your browser)

http://guardianlv.com/2014/04/ice-age-melting-rice-may-no-longer-be-the-treatment-of-choice-for-injuries/

suggests that ice - certainly excessive or prolonged icing - may actually slow down the healing process:

''Applying ice causes blood vessels around the injury to constrict and shut off the blood flow that brings in the inflammatory cells needed for healing. The vessels do not open again for hours after the ice is applied. Decreased blood flow can cause tissue to die and even result in permanent nerve damage. In addition, the ice reduces pain, which is an alert to avoid motion that may be harmful.''



The study was published in the Journal of Strength and conditioning research.  I've always suspected that icing may not always be helpful.  By all means use ice for ACUTE injuries (first several hours only), but certainly not for sub-acute, or chronic injuries - where cooling will retard tissue perfusion and therefore tissue healing.  Interestingly traditional medicine (traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda) has always favoured heat over ice.  Maybe its just the obsession of western physical therapy with sports injuries, who knows?

I've always found that Acupuncture is very helpful, not just for pain relief, but to actually promote soft-tissue healing, and faster recovery.  For more on this see:

http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/acupuncture/scientificBasis.html

(sorry - again you may have to copy and paste these links into your borwser)

Of course, also making a very accurate musculoskeletal and/ or osteopathic diagnosis in any injury is also essential.

http://www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz/osteopathy/principles.html

www.christchurch-osteopathy-acupuncture.co.nz