I'm sure you have heard it before, but did you really listen? So
maybe you iced right after the throbbing pain set in, but did you ever
apply ice again? Well let me make it, make sense, because it makes a
huge difference! The instant a baby loses a fight with the corner of a
table or you twist your ankle in those new 4" stilettos, blood and fluid
rush to the area to heal it. This is why you have edema (a fancy word
for swelling). After a while, that same blood and fluid around the
injury site becomes stale, since all the nutrients have been used up.
If you apply ice, the stale blood and fluid leaves the site, making room
for new, nutrient-rich blood and fluid to rush in. Hence - you heal
faster.
Oh, and by the way, whatever you do, don't apply heat to an injury
for the first 72 hours...or massage, this will increase the swelling.
So here is what you do:
Apply ice for 10 minutes as soon as possible after the injury.
Repeated as much as possible with 45 minutes in between
applications. Even if it's just a time or two on the couch after work,
it's better than nothing.
It is important not to keep the ice on any longer than 10 minutes as
the body then reacts by increasing blood flow to warm the area and
therefore exacerbating the swelling.
Do not apply ice directly to the skin, instead wrap the ice in a damp cloth (a dry cloth will not transmit cold as well).
RITTER, M. & ALBOHM, A. (1987) Your Injury. USA; Cooper Publishing Group
