It’s a standard response to injury. Twist an ankle? Break out an ice pack, or for that matter, any frozen bag of vegetables from the fridge. Even the Greek physician and philosopher Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, advised using cold to relieve pain more than 2,400 years ago.
More recently, however, many medical researchers have backtracked on the practice. In fact, scientists might have figured out why it could be a bad idea to apply cold to an injury.
In a recent study, researchers at McGill University in Montreal documented how icing an injury can provide an immediate respite from pain. This method provides short-term relief. But doing so, they found, can more than double healing time.
Yes, really.
The scientists believe cold blocks the body’s normal healing process, prolonging the pain. After an injury, white blood cells called neutrophils rush in within hours. They clear away dead cells, fight infection and assist in tissue repair. They also shut down pain.
This initial inflammatory immune reaction contributes to pain. It also helps prevent chronic pain.
Researchers suggest other alternatives after an injury. Those include acetaminophen, a common pain reliever found in many medications, nerve stimulation therapies or contrast therapy.
Contrast therapy involves rapidly alternating between hot and cold water.
Nobody, of course, enjoys the inflammation from an injury. The research, however, highlights that it is part of the body’s natural healing process. Getting in its way can have consequences.
So next time you twist an ankle, skip the frozen peas.