What is ice therapy?
When watching high-level sports events such as NBA and Euroleague, you can often see that when an athlete has an acute injury, the therapist will usually give emergency ice to the injured area, so what is ice? And why is it necessary to apply ice in case of injury? What is the significance of it? This article briefly for everyone to elaborate.
The scientific name of ice should be called: Cryotherapy (Cryotherapy). Ice in the treatment of acute sports injuries is one of the most widespread and worth promoting treatment. Timely and correct icing can help reduce tissue swelling and relieve pain.
Principles of ice application.
Pain relief
Ice suppresses the conduction of nociceptive nerve fiber signals.
Cryosensory conduction counteracts nociceptive conduction.
Hypothermia reduces the response of potent nerve endings.
Freezing lowers the pain threshold.
Cryogenic freezing causes the release of endorphins in the body. (Endorphins provide pain relief)
. Control of bleeding and swelling
Lowering the temperature of the tissues by ice reduces local swelling by constricting the local blood vessels and reducing blood leakage. After a few minutes of ice application, the constricted blood vessels reopen and restore the local blood supply. This repeated constriction and opening of the blood supply is called the “shock response”. Although blood is still retained in the injured area, the use of ice and local swelling is significantly reduced. The controlled swelling and edema increases muscle and joint mobility, reduces functional limitations, and facilitates early recovery.
In addition, the swelling caused by the inflammatory response can cause an increase in local pressure on the tissue, resulting in local pain. This pain is mainly due to the release of pain-causing factors into the blood after local tissue injury. Local ice can constrict the blood vessels and reduce the entry of pain-causing factors into the bloodstream, thus providing pain relief.
Relieve muscle spasm
Muscle spasms usually occur as a result of pain. The surrounding muscles protect the injury site by contracting to prevent more serious injury. However, muscle spasm may aggravate painful infections or movement disorders. Ice packs can be very effective in relieving pain and thus help reduce muscle spasm.
However, some muscle spasms are caused by overuse or imbalance of muscle use, and icing can also relieve this part of the muscle spasm.
Decrease metabolic rate
Hypothermia reduces the cellular metabolic rate, lowering the oxygen consumption of cells. When blood flow is reduced due to vasoconstriction, the risk of hypoxic death of cells with reduced oxygen consumption is reduced.
Who is not suitable for cold compress therapy?
Not all people can use cold compress therapy, and it becomes contraindicated in some special body types.
. Cold hypersensitivity reactions: cold urticaria and cold erythema. Both of these groups will experience flushing and itching of the skin as well as the appearance of wind clumps after receiving cold stimuli, and in severe cases, severe pain and muscle cramps.
Raynaud’s disease: This disease is manifested by spasm and cyanotic necrosis of the terminal arteries of the limbs and only worsens the symptoms after the use of cryotherapy.
Sensory impairment: Similar people suffer from cold stimulation, localized skin sensation is reduced, and they cannot even perceive the pain and cold level; this group is not suitable for ice therapy.
In addition, ice therapy is not suitable for people with special heart disease and hypertension. Because vasoconstriction can cause an increase in blood pressure, which can aggravate the complications of hypertension.
Ice therapy is also not suitable for wounds on the body surface.
Types of ice therapy
The specific choice of which method is more effective is determined by the site of injury and the type of injury. The following types of cryotherapy are commonly used.
A. Ice bag: is any kind of bag that can contain crushed ice inside. It can be a plastic bag, a towel or a specially designed ice bag. It is more effective at chilling deeper tissues and lasts longer than commercially available chemical or frozen gel packs. If needed, the ice bag and the injured part of the contact, with an elastic bandage wrapped with pressure, more half-hearted effect.
B, ice bath: can be a washbasin or a bath tub, in any case, can accommodate the injured part of the container can be. It is more effective in treating bony tissue injuries in exposed areas, such as the ankle, foot and hand. After an acute injury, the injured area is treated by immersing it in an ice bath. But ice bath is not as effective as using ice pack and compression bandage, when the ice bath can not play the role of compression.
C. Ice massage Mainly applied to muscle injuries and large areas of injury. When used, ice is held in the hand and massaged back and forth on the injured muscle. The shortcoming of this method is that the massage ice contact with the injured area is only temporary, and is generally suitable for less severe injuries. And the massage is exposed to room temperature, damaged tissue freezing effect is not enough.
D, gel ice bag: this ice bag contains jelly-like substance, can be stored in the refrigerator, when needed to remove. A good refrigeration bag contains antifreeze to prevent freezing as a solid substance, ice can be well shaped, so as to fit the injured part.
E, there are also such as: freezing spray, freezing cuff and other professional equipment for everyone to choose, but tends to be expensive, not universal, so do not repeat.
How to apply ice?
Use it within the first 2-3 days of the injury until the swelling subsides. However, if it is not used at the beginning or if the injury is still swollen after 2-3 days of use, you can continue to apply ice.
This can be done by wrapping a towel or fabric around the ice pack or by wrapping the ice pack around the injury with an elastic bandage. Ice is usually maintained for 15-20 minutes, then removed and returned to room temperature for about 20 minutes. Depending on the situation, you may choose to continue icing, or you may do it every 2-3 hours.
To avoid frostbite, do not place the ice pack directly on the skin. If an ice pack is placed directly on the skin for too long it can cause frostbite, and the skin and subcutaneous tissue can be damaged, sometimes permanently. Some parts such as elbow and knee joints have skin close to the bone and are thin, which can easily cause nerve damage, so control the time of ice packs.