Stop Icing!

Raise your hand if you’ve been around long enough to remember the first time Kelly and Gary Reinl talked about icing injuries in a video.

Gary stopped in for a revisit on what became – and still is – a hot (cold?) button issue and the beginning of a paradigm shift in the way we think about treating injuries.

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[matthewfrancis]

Someone else smarter than me said we are designed to self repair not self destruct! I say that all the time! Makes me happy inside and validates my thoughts, thank you!

[wchphoto]

Holy crap!!! This just rocked my world. My teammates used to call me "The Ice Man". I iced everything, and often! I'll have to show this to our athletic trainers and re-structure my own thinking. I am flummoxed but excited. You guys are very convincing. ARITA!

[dbz]

Interesting stuff. Also interesting to see how Kelly manages to SIT for an hour

[LeahBrooksJeremiahGardens]

Yes! I am 4 weeks post-right total knee replacement and I have not used ANY ICE AT ALL. No NSAIDS either. I am recovering quickly. I was off the walker on day 3. Had full range of motion by day 7. I notice the swelling after PT or home exercise, but by the next day, the swelling is subsiding and I've gained range of motion, muscle, and function. My surgeon has me using a heating pad on the thigh 5x a day for 5 minutes, followed by massage, stretching, and exercise. At 4 weeks, I am walking well, doing squats, and can go up and down stairs with ease. I'll share this video with friends and family. When I tell people I'm not icing, they are shocked.

[stoneclod]

Wow, I had heard whispers and looked softly but this is it, it makes complete sense. Thank you to both of you.

[farrahlipsham]

Weirdly enough in the 90s I had a physio that healed my torn ankle ligaments in record time by not resting the injury and no use of prescription anti-inflammatories.
She had me moving in full range of motion (albeit slowly and lightly), told me to push through the pain 'warning' system to keep natural movement, and gave me strengthening exercises pretty quickly. I've never had problems with it since. (disclaimer, I was young when it happened). Be interesting to see how this method works over time.

[DaveReddy]

I was taught in grad school that we ice because it reduces secondary hypoxic injury by slowing metabolism. If those tissues do not need as much oxygen, you don't get the secondary injury that occurs after a primary, acute injury. I do not ice today, but my Master's thesis was all on cryotherapy working with Dr. Kenneth Knight who was the big cryo therapy researcher back in the day at BYU.

[bennygilligan]

Absolutely brilliant I wish I had known this when I ruptured my Achilles tendon I lost so much muscle mass around calve, to this day 7 years later I never got the size back. I am going to share this thanks guys.

[judesullivan]

You absolutely NAILED it with regard to post-surgical rehab. People are getting annihilated by it.

[wolfganghetzer]

This is excellent! I dislocated my patella when I was 16 and one of the trainers in the gym put ice on it immediately which made it way way worse. Shortly after the injury I found a great trainer who made me move my knee and rehabilitated it very quickly. I fully agree with what’s being talked about here.

[samcooper]

100% correct. I’ve seen almost all my past injuries not heal until I stop icing and move around, at some point you need to push through pain because the pain isn’t caused by injury anymore. Contracting the nearby muscles also seems to make it feel better and fix the lost mind-muscle connection that is caused by rest.

[garrethbert]

We ice dead things. Love it. Then again, I do love ice baths and the removal of pain. And ibuprofen. Hard to adjust my beliefs based on a conversation, but I have a lot of time for Kelley and his work, and I wouldn’t be watching if I wasn’t always injured.

[loozer]

This is some awesome information. Thank you guys.

[Thekettlebelldude]

Yet again I’m blown away!!! Thank you for sharing amazing knowledge!!!

[Bruce_S]

Totally eye openning! Very helpful. Thanks so much for this.

[philstlparkour]

Watched the full video this is so helpful thanks so much for sharing the body is self healing we don’t need ice.

[Chris]

Good stuff on the effectiveness of H Wave units. And they're fairly accessible at only $4, 000+ per unit

[cdrtej]

I remember watching that video almost a decade ago, walking around the Tenderloin on my lunch hour

[LightUpNancy]

What are your thoughts on taking regular ice baths? Seems like it would follow the same logic here, but they have grown in popularity. Curious your thoughts. Thanks!

[cathicakes]

Loving this discussion. What's the protocol for the "muscle activation" post injury that is being recommended?? Stim? Deep Tissue massage?? Please expand on next steps. Thanks!