In September 2007, during a football game against the Denver Broncos, Kevin Everett of the Buffalo Bills, suffered a severe spinal cord injury that immediately left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. Immediately after the injury, the team’s orthopedic doctor, began treatment based on a familiar premise, apply ice to reduce swelling. As they were transferring Everett to the hospital, Dr. Cappuccino induced modest or moderate hypothermia or cold therapy by injecting the body with cold saline. The effect was similar to applying an ice pack on a soft tissue injury. It prevented the hemorrhaging and swelling that typically occurs from such an injury. This innovative approach at the time has been credited with helping Kevin Everett to walk again. A fracture of the cervical spine, as severe as the one that Everett sustained, historically, leads to permanent quadriplegia.
- Ice helps reduce pain and inflammation
- Chronic, low-level inflammation leads to tissue damage
- Icing should can be done up to 72hours after injury
- Icing 10-20minutes 3 times a day will help prevent overexposure effects of ice
- Ice bags or packs should be wrapped with a towel to avoid direct contact with the skin
- Mobilization after pain and swelling have subsided is necessary part of recovery
- Protecting the injury from re-injury is critical
- Icing isn’t necessary if there is little to no inflammation or pain
- Icing is contraindicated in patients who suffer from open wounds, peripheral neuropathy, and diabetes
- There is NO evidence that quantifies icing delays to recovery. For example, icing for 10 minutes leads to a delay of x number of hours, days, months.