Ice therapy, also called cryotherapy or cold therapy, is a form of medical treatment that exposes the body to extremely cold temperatures for short periods of time to treat illness, pain, or inflammation.
There are various cryotherapy methods available today – from applying ice packs and doing an ice bath to having an ice massage.
Originally, this method was used largely by athletes who were prone to strains and injury to muscle groups during competition.
In recent years, the benefits outweigh cryotherapy cost. Cold therapy has made its use spread further into the general population. This has been around for a long time, is accessible to most people, and can be adapted to fit a wide variety of needs.
Benefits of Ice/Cold Therapy
Curious as to how cryotherapy helps when it comes to health? Let’s take a look.
Reducing Muscle Soreness After A Workout
This is the most commonly thought of a use for this procedure. Both professional athletes and those working out to maintain basic health can benefit from ice therapy after a major workout.
An ice pack helps with muscle soreness and body pain. The reason that this treatment is so effective is that it helps muscles to repair from the strain of a workout and reduces swelling.
In one large study, 80 percent of subjects reported less muscle soreness after using frozen ice packs during post-workout treatment.
Heavy weight lifting builds muscles by creating small muscle tears that then are restored and built back stronger. When an athlete’s muscles can quickly repair and soreness is limited, athletes can get back to the gym in less time.
This method can help those working out for personal health benefits to reduce soreness and keep up with their workout schedule.
Reducing Arthritis Pain
Sometimes, this icing treatment is used to treat a specific area of the body, but doctors have found many benefits of whole body ice therapy. Despite the cryotherapy cost, a German study found that regular whole-body sessions greatly reduced pain in arthritis patients.
When arthritis patients experience less pain they are able to better participate in other treatments such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy for their arthritis. This treatment is increasingly essential to a well-rounded arthritis treatment routine.
Helping With Surgery Recovery
Surgery, while often necessary, is hard on the body. When our body experiences trauma to soft tissue and muscles it often responds with pain and inflammation.
Ice applied to strategic areas after medical surgery has been shown to limit pain and swelling, while also shortening recovery time by improving blood flow.
When patients use this method to help control the effects of surgery, they may need other medical pain management options such as opioids for shorter lengths of time.
After surgery, patients are anxious to reach recovery and get back to their routines. This treatment does important work by helping patients to experience pain relief and faster recovery times.
Speeding up recovery of injured tissue, joints, and muscles
Anyone who has ever sprained an ankle or wrist can tell you about the intense swelling and pain that often occurs with these injuries.
Applying frozen peas or ice packs to areas of injury doesn’t just lower the swelling. This method also slows tissue damage, numbs painful nerves, and can stop muscle spasms around the site of an injury.
Studies of the recovery time for ankle sprains have shown that those injuries that received regular treatment with ice therapy healed in around 7 days, where those who chose not to receive this treatment often took more than 10 days to show signs of healing.
Treating Migraine Pain
Migraines can be debilitating for those who experience them on a regular basis. Migraines cause severe head pain, nausea, and other symptoms and often occur more than once in a person’s life.
Treatments for migraine pain vary in cost, time requirements, and invasiveness. Ice therapy can be done at home, is affordable, and provides relief to many migraine sufferers.
To perform this treatment for migraines, a cold pack is wrapped gently around the patient’s neck. These cokd packs rest against the carotid artery which carries blood to the brain.
The blood that reaches the brain through the arteries is cooled during the treatment process which has led to less migraine pain for most patients in medical studies.
Other Benefits of Cryotherapy
Outside of the benefits listed above, ice therapy has been shown to potentially help treat mood disorders, prevent blood clots, and treat a variety of skin conditions.
The benefits of this treatment are not limited to its ability to treat many medical needs. Despite cryotherapy cost, this method is beneficial because:
Is affordable for most people.
Even people who cannot afford specialized treatment in a medical office can use simple ice packs, compresses, and baths to treat basic pain and swelling with ice therapy.
Oftentimes, treatment instructions can be provided by a doctor at an office and then performed at home to lower the cost of traveling to and from medical facilities.
Is an alternative or strong supplement to oral pain medication therapy.
There are many reasons that people may not prefer or be able to use over-the-counter or prescription pain management options such as expense, trouble swallowing medication, and past reactions to medication.
People who are unable to use oral pain and inflammation medications can still use this method to help treat pain and swelling in many areas of the body.
Can be used easily by people of varying physical and mental abilities.
For generalized ice therapy treatments using ice water baths, cool compresses, and general ice packs, little medical training is needed. You also do not have to exert a lot of physical effort to perform this treatment.
The ease of performing this therapy paired with its low level of invasiveness means that it is a great option for people with limited mobility, struggles with mental function, and young children who may not tolerate other medical procedures well.
Is Ice Therapy Right For You?
If you have experienced a recent muscle, joint, or soft tissue injury, this treatment method could be beneficial to your healing. It can be performed one time as a treatment to a direct injury or used as part of a regular treatment routine.
When working to reduce pain from workouts, arthritis, or other events it is worthwhile to ask your doctor about using this method at home to aid in the recovery process.
Considering the cryotherapy cost-effectiveness and ease of treatment, ice therapy has something positive to offer most patients.