Ever since I was a kid, the first thing I was usually told after an injury was to go get ice. I never would question it, if an adult told me to put ice on an injury I would. Did this ice really help most of my injuries out though?

This photo is from http://childcarephysicians.com

Coldness should be used for any acute pain or for a swollen or inflamed area. Ice is generally used to help with fairly new injuries. Our body’s natural reaction to an injury is that our tissue becomes inflamed. This isn’t good because this means that our body is trying to heal itself on its own. It is amazing how our bodies know how to heal themselves as soon as injury is sensed. Swelling pushes the tissue together which causes pain in that area.

Cryotherapy is the same thing as cold therapy. During cryotherapy, ice is used to help numb the injured area. Ice can help to slow down a person’s blood flow in the injured area, which will help reduce the pain and stop excess fluid from building up. Ice doesn’t usually help the overall injury, it is usually used to heal pain in the short term. The best time to use cryotherapy is when an injury is fairly new, swollen, or red. Another key thing this is used for is to help reduce inflammation after a hard workout. Ice can reduce recovery time after exercising. This is important for people that want to be active as much as possible because they need to feel like they are in good shape to workout again and again each day.

In conclusion, I believe that ice is very beneficial in helping to at least reduce pain in a lot of injuries. In the video above you can see the ice getting put to use. Now I’ll be able to explain to someone why we put ice on injuries if they ask me.