Why does ice reduce swelling?
In: Other
There is some partially correct answers in this thread, but most of them seem to be taking information from experience or poor sources. I’ll try to bring it together a bit. I’m a physical therapist and athletic trainer, for reference.
After an injury, cells are damaged. Our body has several responses to damaged cells, all in an effort to return them to their prior state. The primary response is INFLAMMATION. Inflammation and swelling are often used interchangeably, but not necessarily the same thing. Inflammation is a biochemical process stated by the damage to healthy cells, and this chemical process creates a lot of heat, as well as being an irritant to surrounding healthy tissue and also causes increased nerve sensitivity. There is also an increase in fluid collection at the area of injury, which is what most people think of as swelling.
The ice part of RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) helps to slow the chemical process (to prevent more damage to other surrounding tissue) while the compression and elevation helps to decrease the EDEMA. Edema is another word for swelling, but it can be present without an acute inflammatory response. People with lymphatic deficiency tend to have lymphedema, which is a collection of fluid in the arms and legs that the body can’t process which leads to them looking swollen. Icing won’t help at all with lymphedema, but compression garments can be effective in management.
So, icing is helpful to decrease collateral damage to nearby cells after acute injury and will reduce inflammation, but it won’t do anything for fluid accumulation.
Latest Answers