Ice Or Heat For Athletic Injuries

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Ice or heat? Athletes when needing to tend to a sport related injury have long asked this question. When examining both methods of treatment it needs to be addressed whether icing or heat is the best treatment for pain. Ice is the recommended method of treatment for sports related injuries. Ice acts as an anti-inflammatory and can help to reduce pain caused by swelling. The timing of application of ice is important, studies prove that the immediate application of ice is the most beneficial for reducing pain. The length of application is also very important over exposure to the application can be damaging to the already damaged tissue. Icing injuries is a good application to reduce pain caused by swelling in sports injuries. Ice is for injuries. It is only useful where tissue is damaged and or inflamed. Cryotherapy, or cold therapy, refers to cooling body tissue to relieve pain and swelling. “Using cold as a form of therapy started back in ancient Greece.”(Thorndike 2002). Today, we know that cold also changes how fast the nerves send messages. It lowers the metabolic rate and blood flow in the treated area, and it relaxes the muscles. There are many ways to apply cold to an injury. Some use a simple cold pack, others apply ice directly to the area in a circular motion called "ice massage". (Ingraham 2007) Athletic trainers and physical therapists may recommend an ice bath. This refers to placing part of the body such as the hand or foot into a bucket of cold, icy water. It is know how cold affects the skin, but what about the joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments? How deep does cold go? And how long does it last? “Chukuka S. Enwemeka, PhD physical therapists conducted an experiment to find out. A cold pack was applied to the thigh muscle (quadriceps) for 20 minutes. Temperature was measured at various depths before, during, and after cold therapy. Within the
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