Ice therapy, also know as cryotherapy, is the application of cold as a therapeutic modality. The cold stimulates vasoconstriction of the blood vessel in the area being iced.
This reduces the swelling and inflammation by limiting the amount of fluid able to perfuse into the soft tissue surrounding the injury. It also numbs the affected area by decreasing the proprogation of nocioceptive neural stimuli to the brain to reduce pain and muscle spasms.
In the acute stages of injury the positive effects of cryotherapy outweigh the negative effects, and allows for a degree of control over the inflammatory reaction. However, with the initial inflammatory reaction of the injured soft tissue reduced the negative aspects of cryotherapy will impede the recovery of the tissue.
Apply ice for 15 to 20 minutes periods every couple of hours in the first fourty-eight hours after the injury occured. The ice must be wrapped in a damp towel or cloth to prevent superficial nerve or skin damage caused by over exposure to the ice.
Apply caution when using cryptherapy on people who are hypersensitive to cold such as anyone with Raynaud’s syndrome, diabetes, cold urticaria, paroxysmal cold hemoglobulinuria or have a circulatory insufficiency.