<em>Ice, Ice Baby</em> . . . <br>. . . But for how long? at Her Active Life

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Ice, Ice, Baby . . . but for how long?

Posted July 2, 2007 at 04:15 PM by Bridget Sullivan

Section: Her Fitness, Sports Medicine, Her Health, Injury & Rehab, Her News

ice-cubes It was 3:30 AM. My husband and I had just rolled into Duluth, MN from Chicago, IL so that I could compete in a half marathon, and the next think we knew, he was on the floor in pain, tightly gripping his right ankle. He suffers from chronically weak ankles as a result of years spent rolling them as a competitive high school and college athlete, and one mis-step today often spells trouble. Within minutes, his ankle swelled to the size of a softball, and I frantically searched through the card catalog of physical therapy treatments in my mind: should he ice for 20 minutes or 10 minutes?

After years of muscle flare-ups and running injuries, I was surprised to find myself fumbling over the correct answer. And since I couldn’t accurately recall an answer, we opted for the more conventionally prescribed 20 minutes and a dose of RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation).

But according to a recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, he may have been better off sticking to 10 minutes.

Until last year, no one had really studied the most effective way to ice ankle sprains and strains and other muscle injuries. In fact, most people follow a regimen of icing (or cryotherapy)for 20 minutes every two hours for three days. A few curious researchers decided to test this theory on 89 people, half of whom were athletes, who had suffered a mild to moderate ankle sprain within the last 48 hours.

They randomly separated their patients in pain into two groups. The first group followed conventional wisdom and iced their ankles for 20 minutes every two hours for three days. The second group followed a different protocol: they iced their ankles for 10 minutes on, then took 10 minutes off, and then iced again for another 10 minutes. They repeated this every two hours for three days.

The good news? During the six weeks following their injuries, both groups reported significantly less ankle pain and swelling while at rest, and markedly improved ankle function—the ability to move and bear weight on the joint.

The better news? The group that iced for 10 minutes - when compared to the group on the 20 minute schedule - experienced much less pain during everyday activities such as standing and walking one week after their injury (researchers believe this is because those icing on the ten minute schedule managed to keep the temperature of the muscle lower longer).

The next time one of your muscles decide to flare up, give this icing routine a try. However, if your mind ping-pongs between the numbers 10 and 20 in a confused flurry like mine did, just remember that - when in doubt - throw the ice pack on and cool the muscle for 10 - 20 minutes.

Source: Br J Sports Med 2006;40:700–5

Photo: ©istockphoto.com/Tomasz Tulik