How to Use an Ice Pack
If you’ve ever had a sports injury then you’re probably familiar with R.I.C.E. therapy:
• Rest – stop using the injured part of your body
• Ice – the area to reduce swelling, relieve pain and speed healing
• Compression – if possible wrap the injured area with an elastic bandage (Ace bandage)
• Elevation – while you are resting, keep your injury above the level of your heart. For example, if you have a sprained ankle, you want to rest it by lying down and propping your foot up to a level that is higher than your heart. Just sitting with your foot dangling is not as helpful for reducing swelling.
For the first 24 to 48 hours after an injury, which also includes surgery—your body doesn’t know whether your surgery is an accident or on purpose—you want to apply ice to the injured area. Usually, you can apply both compression and ice at the same time by wrapping the ice bag inside the elastic bandage. However, you don’t want to put the ice directly against the skin. Put a wash cloth between the ice bag and your skin before you wrap the bandage. Your doctor or physical therapist will usually tell you how long to keep the ice on the area and how often to use ice. It’s not uncommon to ice as often as every hour for the first 24-48 hours, leaving the ice on for 20 minutes at a time. There is no advantage to leaving the ice on longer than 20 minutes, the healing effects go away after about 20 minutes.
By numbing the area with ice, you can reduce or get rid of pain. Again, 20 minutes should do the trick. Ice bags are great for numbing episiotomy stitches.
You should also use ice after exercise or physical therapy while your injury is healing. Don’t use ice before exercise or physical therapy, as this slows down the blood flow and can cause further injury. Use heat to warm the muscles, ligaments, and tendons before exercise or PT so they can stretch without injury.
