More on not using ice on injuries

 In an earlier post, I reported on studies showing that applying ice packs to sore and damaged muscles is counterproductive. I recently came across more studies that refuted this practice. Here’s what they found:

• People who iced a torn calf muscle felt just as much leg pain later as those who left their sore leg alone. In addition, they were not able to return to their normal activities any sooner than those who iced their wounds.
• Athletes who iced sore muscles after strenuous exercise regained strength and power more slowly than those who didn’t.
•  A 2015 study on weight training found that men who regularly applied ice packs after workouts developed less muscular strength, size, and endurance than those who recovered without ice.

Recently, scientists have figured out why, on a molecular level, icing is not helpful. Researchers subjected mice—whose muscles are like ours—to simulated exertion, after which they applied ice to some mice and left others alone. After the exertion, they collected tissue samples, scrutinized them microscopically, and found evidence of damage to muscle fibers.

Normally, in the healing process, pro-inflammatory immune cells rush to the afflicted area, where they fight off invading germs or mop up damaged bits of tissues and cellular debris. Anti-inflammatory cells then move in, quieting the inflammation and encouraging healthy new tissues to form.

In the mice experiment, this healing process worked properly for the mice who had not received ice treatment. That is, pro-inflammatory cells immediately began removing cellular debris until, by day three, most of the damaged fibers had been cleared away. After that, anti-inflammatory cells showed up along with specialized muscle cells that rebuild tissues. By the end of two weeks, the muscles had fully healed. In contrast, for the mice whose muscles were iced, it took seven days to reach the same levels of pro-inflammatory cells as on day three for the non-iced mice. Even after two weeks, their muscles showed lingering molecular signs of tissue damage and incomplete healing.

I wrote this before my knee replacement surgery. I was supposed to apply ice to reduce swelling. I'll let you know later whether I complied or not.

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