Jun
4
Written by:
Jane Bridgeforth
Thursday, June 04, 2009
It has been brought to my attention that I have been showing a strong preference for heat. Okay, I confess I'm a heat junkie and love the summer. Even a hint of a breeze makes me cold. The only way I want some cold is the ice cubes in my drink. I'm guilty as charged. However, to make amends to those who love the cold, this post is for you. However, be forewarned that there are no deep cold modalities.
First, let's review what happens when ice is applied after an acute soft tissue injury. As the ice touches your skin, you first feel a cold sensation, followed by pain, aching, and then a burning sensation. Next the pain stops, and the numbness you experience is the desired analgesic effect. At this point the icing is stopped. This technique reduces your tissue temperature, decreases blood flow, relieves pain, and reduces inflammation and swelling.
Ice massage should be done for approximately 5 to 10 minutes per session to get good results on the area(s) of concern. This is an inexpensive treatment which can be done in a variety of ways. Using an ice cube wrapped in a cloth is a very basic method. Freezing water in a small Styrofoam cup is another easy way to do ice massage. The Styrofoam can then be peeled away to gain access to the ice. A variation of this is freezing a tongue depressor in a cup to make an ice pop. I have also chilled my stones and applied those to areas to get that numbing effect. Once the swelling associated with the injury has subsided, limited massage can be done on the healing tissue.
There is definitely a role for cold therapy (cryotherapy) in massage, especially when treating acute soft tissue injuries. However, ice massage is not the only form of cryotherapy. Ice packs, immersion baths, and vaso-coolant sprays are some of the other methods used to achieve these same results. So for those who require that jolt of coolness, this one's for you!