How to employ the benefits of Icing  at Home



Ice (cryotherapy) can be a valuable form of therapy for sports injury, muscle overuse  or post exercise soreness and if used correctly. Ice has the benefit of being inexpensive , effective  and easy to apply. Ice has the ability to decrease pain, reduce inflammation and spasms, and help encourage the healing process. 

Timing . The best time to apply ice is generally post injury or post workout. Generally ice is most effective when used within 72 hours of injury or overuse. Typically, ice application time is  15-30 minutes usually 2-3 times per day. You can watch a more complete demonstration and explanation by clicking here. 

 Following these simple Do’s and Don’ts will get you the best results from the therapy.

Do:

-Place a barrier such as a thin towel between the ice and your skin or make use of a “soft” skin ice pack.

-Leave the ice on long enough for the therapeutic effect. It is recommended to leave the ice on at least 15 minutes or longer. Any less than that will usually just cool the skin rather than penetrate the muscle tissue.

-Ice immediately following activity or injury.

-Continue icing periodically throughout the day, generally every 4-6 hours is recommended

(for a great video recap of when to use Ice vs Heat, click here)



Don’t:  (for the more audio/visual learners out there, click here to see an excellent recap of the "don'ts")

-Place ice directly on the skin ( unless the ice pack is specially designed for this ). This may cause a freezer burn to the skin.

-Ice before working out. Ice’s numbing effect can block signals to the brain which would normally alert you that there is pain or the activity is too much.

-Put ice on an area that has loss the ability to detect temperature changes. ( ie diabetic neuropathy, frostbite, etc) 

-ice if you have Raynauds, Rheumatoid arthritis, or suffer from cold sensitivities.