Do I use ice on my injury?

When someone rolls their ankle, most of us instinctively grab an ice pack. When we see professional athletes get injured, they’re wrapped...

Do I use ice on my injury?

When someone rolls their ankle, most of us instinctively grab an ice pack. When we see professional athletes get injured, they’re wrapped in ice before they’ve even made it off the field. Ice appears to be an ingrained part of the acute injury management process, but does this align with the latest research?

There is certainly a consensus throughout the literature that ice acts as a great analgesic (pain numbing agent) by cooling the skin’s temperature. However, the impact on underlying muscles is non-existent, as muscle temperature remains unchanged from topical ice application. Anecdotally, most people report ice makes injuries “feel better” in the short-term. This is most likely due to the analgesic effect of ice. But what impact does immediately icing an injury have in the mid to long-term?

In 2014, Dr Mirkin acknowledged changes in the research and retracted ice from his initial protocol. He stated that coaches had been using his “’RICE‘ guideline for decades, but now it appeared that both ice and complete rest may in fact delay healing, instead of helping (3).

What Dr Mirkin is referring to is the necessary benefits of the inflammation process. When we injure ourselves, our body sends signals out to our inflammatory cells which release the hormone Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF-1). These cells initiate healing by killing off damaged tissue. When ice is applied, we may actually be preventing the body’s natural release of IGF-1 and therefore delaying the initiation of the healing process (3).

Ice was finally revoked in 2019 from the injury management process with the latest and most comprehensive acronym: PEACE & LOVE (Protection, Elevation, Avoid Anti-Inflammatory Drugs, Compression, Education & Load, Optimism, Vascularisation and Exercise) (4).

With all of this new-found evidence on the negatives of icing injuries, it begs the question:

‘If ice delays healing, even if it can temporarily numb pain, should we still be using it?’

Probably not.

But, whilst some inflammation may be warranted for recovery, too much or prolonged swelling is bad news. Excessive swelling applies unwanted pressure on the tissues, restricts movement, can increase pain and decreases muscle function (5).

This is often seen in severe joint sprains (such as ankle sprains) where swelling is significant enough that range of movement is impeded.

In these circumstances ice may be a viable option, as the goal is not to necessarily prevent all swelling, but to limit the extent of it (6). In contrast, muscle tears often elicit less oedema and hence ice is not likely to be of benefit in the early stages of injury management.

So, based on the current research, keep the ice in the freezer. As we currently understand it, ice is less important than we once thought. The exception to this rule would be when injuries are severe and in circumstances where swelling will likely be the limiting factor for recovery. In these cases, ice may be beneficial in the early stages only.

Our main focus should be - encouraging people to return to movement safely again, as soon as it is practical.

References

  1. Mirkin, G. & Hoffman, M. (1978). The sportsmedicine book. (1st ed.). Little Brown and Co.
  2. Bleakley, C. M., Glasgow, P. & MacAuley, D. C. (2012). PRICE needs updating, should we call the POLICE? British Journal of Sports Medicine. 46, 220–221.
  3. Mirkin, G. (2014, March 16). Why Ice Delays Recovery. https://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/why-ice-delays-recovery.html
  4. Dubois, B. & Esculier, J-F. (2020). Soft-tissue injuries simply need PEACE and LOVE. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 54, 72-73.
  5. Scott, A., Khan, K. M., et al. (2004). What do we mean by the term “inflammation”? A contemporary basic science update for sports medicine. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 38, 372–380.
  6. Palmieri, R. M., Ingersoll, C. D., et al. (2004). Arthrogenic muscle response to a simulated ankle joint effusion. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 38, 26–30.