Why Ice Delays Recovery | Hacker News Reader

Why Ice Delays Recovery

drmirkin.com

11 pointscpncrunch7 comments

Also, rest (the R part of the "RICE" acronym previously advocated by Dr Mirkin) delays recovery:

http://www.healthline.com/health-news/rice-method-for-sports...

I just sprained my ankle on Monday, and I've not iced it, and been trying to use it lightly.

I just sprained my ankle and have some other anecdotes.

A couple days after the sprain, my physio told me to ice for about 20 mins and that the last few minutes are the most important, because the icing actually increases blood flow to the joint as the body tries to warm up the cold extremity. This apparently brings in all the healing goodness due to increased circulation mentioned in the article.

I also sprained my other ankle several years ago, and that physio wanted me moving on it as soon as I could (after X-ray showed no fracture). She said that movement helps get blood supply to the bones and joints which aids the healing. She also said that the bone that heals the fastest is the rib, because people are constantly breathing 24/7 and thus it gets constantly supplied with fresh blood.

Yes, increased blood flow is integral to recovery. Ice slows that down. However, icing is not categorically bad. 10 minutes in an ice bath does wonders at helping to dispatch the lactic acid accumulated during a long event.

You didn't read the whole article, he makes that point at the end, and says "There is no reason to apply ice more than six hours after you have injured yourself."

In the recommendations, the author does say it's OK to apply ice for 10 minutes to reduce pain. Remove ice for 20 minutes and repeat one or two more times.

Lactic acid does not cause muscle soreness. In fact, it is used as fuel for muscles. This isn't the article I want, but I can't find that one now, so this one will have to do:

http://running.competitor.com/2014/01/training/six-lies-you-...

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