Why does ice reduce swelling?
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ELI5: You have muscle cells in your blood vessels that make them get bigger or smaller. When you’re hurt, they get bigger to allow more help to get there, like how cars get out of the way of ambulances and fire trucks with their sirens on. When you put ice on it, the vessels get smaller because they know sending blood there will make it cold, and that will make your whole body cold.
ELI15: Swelling is part of the wound healing process. When damaged is detected by circulating white blood cells, they release chemicals that increase blood flow to the area so more white blood cells can get there and so oxygen and nutrients continue to reach nearby cells. The increase is caused by vasodilation – blood vessels (vaso) becoming larger in diameter (dilation). Nerve cells detecting cold, like when you put ice on a wound, send out the opposite signal, causing vasoconstriction.
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