And guess what? Your body is really good at sending blood and cells to an injured body part to heal it. Almost too good. That's why we use ice to control swelling and pain. When ice is applied to your body, it causes vasoconstriction, which limits blood flow to a specific body part. That limited circulation helps to keep swelling down. The ice also helps to decrease pain signals that you may be feeling after your injury.
The 10 minute ice time is really just a general guideline. What if you just can't tolerate 10 minutes of icing on an injured body part? Is there another way to know when to stop icing? There is. You can use the CBAN method of icing. CBAN is an acronym that stands for cold, burn, ache, numb. Those are the sensations you should feel when applying ice to your injured body part. When you first put ice on, it should feel cold. After keeping ice in place on your injured body part for a few minutes, you should feel a slight burning sensation.
This should only last for a few minutes, and then it will be replaced by an ache. After the aching, you will notice that the ice is making your skin feel numb. When you get to the numb feeling, it is time to remove the ice, regardless of the amount of time you have placed the ice on your body.
The CBAN acronym simply uses your own body's sensations to tell you when to remove the ice. Icing an injury has been the conventional wisdom for some time, but research published in indicates that it may not be absolutely necessary.
After all, your body has been healing itself for quite some time. Why all of the sudden should we control that process by using ice? Ice can help make your injury feel better, so many experts recommend using ice for only a short period of time.
It may be best to keep the ice on for at least five minutes, and then off for 30 minutes to restore normal blood flow. Bottom line: check-in with your healthcare provider use the CBAN method and keep your injured body part moving. Medical Review: William H. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use.
Learn how we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. Updated visitor guidelines. Top of the page. And how long should the ice or heat treatments last? Read on for information about treatment of injuries with ice packs and heating pads. Ice treatment is most commonly used for acute injuries.
If you have had a recent injury within the last 48 hours where swelling is a problem, you should be using ice.
Ice packs can help minimize swelling around the injury, reduce bleeding into the tissues, and reduce muscle spasm and pain.
Ice packs are often used after injuries like ankle sprains have occurred. Applying an ice pack early and often for the first 48 hours will help minimize swelling, and decreasing swelling around an injury will help to control the pain.
Ice treatments may also be used for chronic conditions, such as overuse injuries in athletes. Do not apply ice or heat to large areas of the body if only one joint or body part is the focus. As an example, a full-body ice bath should not be used to treat an ankle sprain. The body cannot sustain the vasodilation, or decrease of blood flow, to such a large area. This type of treatment will not help the injured body part, so do not waste your time in a really cold bath.
As a more advanced treatment, use ice AND heat. To achieve therapeutic results, you must do this in a very specific way.
The key is to ice for 20 minutes, causing the vessels to narrow, and then heat for 15 minutes, causing the vessels to dilate. This acts as a pumping mechanism to the inflammation, pushing it away from the injured area. By ending on ice, the vessels will be narrowed and will help keep inflammation from re-entering the area.
Heat and ice can be used on all injuries or sore body parts at any time and can provide significant pain relief. Ice is definitely not as comfortable as heat, and ice will sometimes ache or burn for the first five to seven minutes of the minute session. If used appropriately, it can help tremendously with most aches and pains.
Ice vs. November 04, To ease that pain, is it better to use ice or heat? What is Inflammation? Does heat make inflammation worse? About Applying Heat Heat does have its role. Rules to Remember: If an injury has occurred to any body part within three days, ice is preferred -- 20 minutes on and 30 to 40 minutes off.
Pain to the back, neck and large muscle groups like quads, hamstrings and calves will respond well to heat after three days of injury. Use ice for pain in joints such as knees, elbows and shoulders. Keep It Local Do not apply ice or heat to large areas of the body if only one joint or body part is the focus. Comments October 20, My chiro advised icing and applying ice then heat.
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