Is Ice Pack Helpful When You Are Injured?
Have you ever suffered a scratch, sprain, strain, or overuse injury due to exercise or work? Then you might try using an ice pack on your calves, ankles, or shoulders... It is common to treat injuries with ice. However, have you ever wondered whether ice bags can really help the injured parts of our body?
First of all, inflammation occurs when a part of our body is injured. The injured area may turn red, swollen, or painful. At this time, ice bags can help control these symptoms. This is because ice helps reduce swelling and pain by narrowing blood vessels and then reducing the amount of blood reaching the injured area. In other words, ice can help you feel better.
Next, let's have a guess. Do you think that if you feel the injured area is less painful or it does not look that swollen, does that mean the injured part will heal faster and get better?
The answer is NO. Applying ice may help decrease swelling and inflammation, but it will not accelerate healing. It is still recommended to follow the doctor's instructions to help your injured part heal.
On the other hand, ice can help when you're injured, but misusing it can worsen things. When you use ice for injury treatment, keep the ice on for about 10 minutes at a time.
Do not apply ice on the injured area for too long(more than 10 mins), because it will damage your tissue and even cause frostbite. Especially if you feel numb in the injured part, it means you can remove the ice.
Here, there is an appropriate way to show you how to ice an injury. The first step is to wrap the ice bag with a towel, then start icing the injured part for no more than 10 minutes at a time, and then allow the area to get warm for about 30 minutes.
You can apply ice several times a day as long as you feel pain (swollen and inflamed wound). More importantly, elevate the injured body part above the heart while icing. It helps relieve pain and swelling.
To sum up, ice packs can reduce swelling and pain if we use them correctly during an injury. Finally, if you have an ice maker at home, you can get ice soon, wrap ice cubes with a towel, which is a simple ice pack that can be used in an emergency.
