Parents Ice Bucket?

[3LittleGymmies]

My daughter has a sprain - not broken (we did x-rays) and it has been pretty swollen for a week now. She has been icing it (with a large "soft" ice pack) all of the time, taking ibuprofen, etc. The swelling still hasn't really gone down. Yesterday, her coach told her to stick it in a bucket of ice water instead of using an ice pack. She did last night and the swelling has gone down so much. Coincidence? Or is this a trick that really works?

 

[Gymsanity]

The proof is in the pudding!
It's a good home remedy, as I find many people don't use ice packs correctly. Hope it gets better soon, but if not, don't be afraid to check back with your Dr.

 

[Canadian_gym_mom]

My hockey playing son sprained his ankle 2 weeks ago and it is still quite swollen as well. We have been doing ice buckets from the beginning for him because that's what my dd did for her sprain/fracture 2 years ago.

How long did she have it in the ice? We have been doing 15 minutes.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Freezing a limb will reduce swelling. However! the swelling is the healing mechanism that the body creates.... so..... New studies are out that suggest less ice and more heat may actually speed up the healing process and excessive ice may eliminate swelling but in doing so, could actually increase healing time. Go figure....

 

[Galadriel]

We got told ice 10 minutes heat 10 minutes alternatively repeated.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

We got told ice 10 minutes heat 10 minutes alternatively repeated.

Who knows!

 

[Galadriel]

Exactly!

 

[wallinbl]

Ice packs and other things just put more stuff and distance between the ice and the injury. If it's a frozen ice pack, there's plastic and other stuff between the ice and skin, and it does not conform well to the shape of the body. With an ice bucket filled with water and ice, nothing is between the ice and skin, and it can conform much better to the shape of the body. If you leave out the water, it will not be as cold, as it will not be as close to the skin (except where the ice manages to touch).

A bucket with ice and water is excruciatingly cold. I spent years putting my ankles in one every night.

 

[gymjunkie]

I'm with you coachp. Acute inflammation is beneficial for injuries. We don't use ice & even use a therapeutic heat lamp for sprains and such in our household. NSAIDs will also increase the healing time for some injuries.

 

[Tbrov]

We've had a lot of success with the ice bath / heating pad combo. It reduces bruising and swelling, increases healing time, and seems to just make it feel better a lot faster. I can't remember how many minutes each, though. But we did like 3 times back and forth (maybe 10 minutes each?) We use our big pasta pot filled with ice water - I have many pictures of my kids with their foot in my pot. Yum.

 

[rosettasmom]

I've been told that heating pads are also bad as the draw the moisture or of the muscles and such which isn't good. Was told to use moist heat. (I hate the word moist)

 

[raenndrops]

I've been told that heating pads are also bad as the draw the moisture or of the muscles and such which isn't good. Was told to use moist heat. (I hate the word moist)

I always put a damp towel between my heating pad and the injured area... so i have moist heat,

 

[Deleted member 14190]

How do you pull moisture out of a muscle when you have layers of "moist" skin and blood between the muscle and pad???? .

 

[Tbrov]

Her foot's still wet from the ice bath - I figure that's moist enough

 

[rosettasmom]

Don't know. A massage therapist who works for a sports Dr told me that.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Josh Eldridge talked about this at Region 1 Congress, and suggested soaking the ankle in water somewhere around 50 degrees.

(He's got an account here on CB, but I haven't seen him post in awhile -- I'm hoping he'll swing by and chime in)

 

[kitkat]

My daughter went to Woodward a few times and the trainers there swear by it. After each practice she would put her feet or hands in water - whichever she worked hard.
Totally preventative. They said that ice is really only good for surface issues and if its a deep issue pain then you need the ice bath.

My daughter has a sprain - not broken (we did x-rays) and it has been pretty swollen for a week now. She has been icing it (with a large "soft" ice pack) all of the time, taking ibuprofen, etc. The swelling still hasn't really gone down. Yesterday, her coach told her to stick it in a bucket of ice water instead of using an ice pack. She did last night and the swelling has gone down so much. Coincidence? Or is this a trick that really works?