{"id":2590,"date":"2016-06-12T14:43:58","date_gmt":"2016-06-12T14:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sbrsport.co.za\/?p=2590"},"modified":"2019-10-15T10:20:32","modified_gmt":"2019-10-15T10:20:32","slug":"to-ice-or-not-to-ice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sbrsport.co.za\/?p=2590","title":{"rendered":"To Ice or not to Ice?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Should you use ice\u00a0at all?<\/h1>\n

For years, we have been taught to put ice on inflamed areas. I bought into that, however, I have had a rethink and believe that it is a mistake. One of the ironies regarding ice use is that we insist that people who have sprained something immediately ice the area. The body swells, we ice. We then dash the person off to casualty and there, the patient gets given an anti-inflammatory injection.\u00a0 So up to now, we have done all that we know to reduce inflammation. After an x-ray, the doctor walks in and explains that the joint needs to be immobilized so that it can mend itself.\u00a0 Guess what, before the ice and before the anti-inflammatory the body was trying to immobilize the area by allowing it to swell. It knew what to do from the get-go.<\/p>\n

\"ice<\/a><\/p>\n

Ice is good, for keeping food fresh and stopping dead bodies from decaying. I am not sure though that it is a good idea for human beings. In fact, putting ice on an injured area will constrict blood vessels, which then reduces circulation. Fluids now begin to congeal in the area, and the body in time will battle to disperse of these later. It is possible to still find swelling in an injured area a year later after excessive use of ice. Yet, we still use it on injury sites, and some even plunge into ice baths after a workout.<\/p>\n

\"ice<\/a><\/p>\n

Your body is primed to repair itself. It\u2019s genius. You can buy a top level Rolex watch, but when it is scratched, it\u2019s scratched. Your body, however, is primed to look after itself and repair when possible. I personally think that medicine will reinvent itself over the next few years. We have had a generation that has bought into the belief that there are drugs and an operation for everything. We have in so many ways been let down by this, and have all got a litany of horror stories from people who have bought into that. It\u2019s time to study and make use of the ways that the body heals itself. The Chinese have looked into it for years, and I think that some of these ideas will become more mainstream.<\/p>\n

Ice is just so 80’s.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

In the book, \u201cIced\u201d, by Dr. G Reinl, the following reviews are mentioned:<\/p>\n