We all have heard the age old treatment for a sprain: put some ice on it. There is little doubt about the ability for cold temperatures compressed on an injury to reduce inflammation and swelling and to ease pain. The most common use of this method in sports medicine is in the acronym R.I.C.E., which stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Go to any trainer after an injury and in one form or another they will mention all of these practices for treatment of the majority of sports injuries.
But at this point in treating an injury the damage is usually already done. Most athletes will overlook minor aches and sprains until they become very painful or reduce range of motion. Once the injury is looked at by a medical professional it is likely that they had not been properly treated since being injured. This can cause more inflammation (and pain). If an athlete begins treating their own injury as soon as they are injured it can reduce recovery time and avoid excessive swelling.
When a muscle, tendon, or ligament is, torn-which is what happens in most sports injuries-blood cells and fluid escape into muscle fibers and cause bruising and swelling visible on the skin. Applying cold to the location of an injury significantly slows this process and reduces damage to tissue associated with excessive swelling. Even more helpful is if cold is applied as soon as an injury is sustained. The less time an injury has to swell the better.
One need only look no further than professional sports to find examples of cryotherapy (the use of cold therapy to treat injuries) in use. For instance, in nearly every professional soccer league there are probably more ankle injuries than in any other sport, and rushing to the aid of every fallen soccer player is a team of trainers armed with cold spray. Skin refrigerants are a fast way to start cryotherapy. Drenching an injury in ice cold water also can have the same affect. The intent is not heal the injury but to simply slow the swelling process.
The most high profile instance of cryotherapy and quick injury intervention in recent memory was that of the Buffalo Bills' Kevin Everett. Everett sustained a spinal cord injury during a game in 2007. Instantly after the impact Everett's body was completely motionless. For the National Football League it is the worst-case-scenario with more than a serious chance for Everett to end up paralyzed. Luckily for Everett one of the team doctors, Dr. Andrew Cappuccino, was a believer of the benefits of cryotherapy and was on scene when Everett sustained his injury and started cold therapy as soon as the ambulance drive to the hospital. Dr. Cappuccino said of cold therapy, in regards to treating Everett's injuries, "cold therapy is responsible for Everett's ability to move his arms and legs days later."
Kevin Everett went from near-total paralysis to gradual movement in days, and his doctors strongly believe that stopping the swelling in his vertebrae before it started played a big role. The doctors also stressed that it is uncommon for most patients to get treatment like Everett did so soon after an injury. Since most don't have a team of doctors standing by during their rec-league flag football games, it is up to each athlete to start their own treatment as soon as they sustain an injury.
Every moment is crucial the first step to getting back to competing is acting quickly. All of the greatest athletes hate injuries mostly because they keep them from doing what they love-playing the game.
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