When Injury Strikes, It’s Time to “Cool It!”

The therapeutic use of cold is called cryotherapy. It is a form of counter-irritation, where the skin and the areas below are slightly stimulated with cold temperatures in order to trigger a healing process by reducing inflammation and muscle tightness. However, though ice can be very helpful when properly applied, it can do harm when used incorrectly. Ice should never be applied directly to your skin. Instead, use a moist cloth or towel on the skin with the ice placed on top of it. A moist towel helps transfer the cooling benefits whereas a dry one can partly insulate your skin from the cold. In this way, the cooling effect can reach all areas, including some bones.

The ice can be placed in a plastic bag, with smaller pieces of ice working better than large ice cubes. A package of frozen blueberries or peas, or other items in your freezer, may also work just fine. Or you can use a freezer gel pack, but be sure the gel pack is not leaking, as that can be irritating to the skin.

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Applying ice to your body produces four stages of sensation you can easily feel. First, as the area becomes cool, you will feel the cold effect immediately. Second, you will feel a prickling or itchy sensation, sometimes described as a burning itch. Following this sensation, you will get an achy feeling—in some cases this can become painful, which signals it’s time to remove the ice. The last stage is numbness, and one to avoid. If you feel numbness, immediately remove the ice.

Usually, the numbness stage takes up to twenty minutes. When it doubt, remove the ice earlier. The therapeutic effects occur in the early and mid stage and risk of soft tissue damage increases in the later stage. You can apply the ice again once the skin temperature has returned to normal, although once every hour or two is sufficient for most situations.