Here is the THING about ICING injuries.....

You’ve sustained an injury; rolled ankle, impact trauma, hyper-extension, partial muscle, tendon, or ligament tear…

In cases of Acute injury, our first response is usually to ICE it! 

Why? Because mom said, Coach said, the Athletic Trainer said, the Doctor said, even the Massage Therapist said

BUT WHY?

Here’s a brief history of how ICE came to be the go-to for acute soft-tissue injuries:

In 1962 a 12-year-old boy named Everet Knowles cut his arm off. The doctors told the first responders to put his arm on ice… the ice preserved the tissue and allowed the surgeons to perform the very first successful reattachment of a severed limb. Many other success stories followed and so began the mantra to “ICE it!”

Problem is, a severed limb is much different than a sprained ankle. and the treatment approach should be as well, but nonetheless, it started an icing culture that lasted for decades and still persists.

We’ve all heard of the RICE Method, yes? 

R.

I.

C.

E.

Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

The RICE Method was coined by Dr Gabriel Mirkin in 1978, and to this day is taught and held as the go-to for treating acute injuries. Do you know how many studies were done that support the RICE method, or icing in general for therapeutic treatment of soft tissue injuries? None. Zip. Zero. Zilch. 

Fast forward through a few decades of every Dr, Physical Therapist, Athletic Trainer, and Massage Therapist being taught to use Ice for injuries, with no evidence to support it, other than the experience of ice reducing the pain, to just a few years ago when Dr Gabe Mirkin, the same man who coined the RICE Method came out and said HE WAS WRONG. That not only do REST & ICE NOT help the healing process, they actually delay and compromise it! There are no studies supporting the therapeutic benefits of ICE and REST - but there are studies showing that they DON’T help…

But today we still have Coaches putting ice on freshly sprained ankles, WebMD recommends it, your Dr probably does too, I’ve even seen clients after they’ve been through one of the largest Orthopedic Centers in town coming to me after months of PT with no progress saying