It’s my understanding that swelling is the body’s way of delivering healing “supplies” to the injured area. Why are we stopping that from occurring?
In: 96
If the injury is severe enough, there is a desire to minimize swelling in order to be able to get a clear image of the damage (X-ray, MRI) quickly so that the best course of treatment can be determined. A lot of fluid makes it really hard to see what’s going on. Aside from that, ice is very helpful for reducing pain immediately after an injury, since swelling puts increased pressure on the nerves in the area. And even with RICE, there is still plenty of swelling. Our bodies really do overdo it, swelling can be so extreme in little joints like ankles that the body seems to be inflating like a balloon partially to make you recognize something is really wrong and that you should rest.
I was a trainer for almost a decade, and one thing you should NEVER do is ice a minor injury, and then jump back in a game. The cold reduces nerve feedback and tissue pliability, which increases the chance of new or further injury. We learned to gradually warm tissue back up if returning to activity, at least 20 minutes.
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