Subject: RE: Does icing help speed the heeling process? As a PT I have used ice baths on myself and clients for years to aid recovery. They do work, but as Kido mentioned, you may find other recovery modalities like massage and compression to be equally or more helpful.
For me personally, when I know a lot of muscle soreness is on the way, nothing helps as much as the ice bath. It still seems like magic! I've found that 10-20 minutes is enough....over 20 doesn't seem to be as productive. I usually wear my cycling or running shorts into the tub to protect the.....er....tender bits, and will even throw on a fleece jacket to keep from shivering too much.
One thought on why/how it works is not the that it stops the inflammatory process (after all, some inflammation is good and necessary for healing ) but that it speeds it along because the cool provides a better environment for the enzymes, hormones, macrophages, etc to do their work.
Good luck! |