RICE = bad?

[Mastabiff]

http://www.caringmedical.com/sports_injury/rice.asp

My friend who just sprained his ankle isn't icing it because he thinks the decreased circulation will make it heal more slowly, and that circulation is more critical for healing ligaments than it is for muscles because they have poorer blood flow to begin with.

Any thoughts?

[Kibs]

What an idiot.

[Dragonic MiKe]

Interesting.

[Mastabiff]

What an idiot.

He's actually not an idiot, that's why I'm curious.

[Yuri]

i would say it depends in the injury whether to use rice or not
i actually might have to agree with him for a ligament injury. rice can be helpful for muscle injuries but for joints related injuries like ligaments i would say joint rotations are key to healing and prevention

[Skilzat85X]

Ummm, if it's within 48-72ish hours after your injury, ice will always help. It's to reduce the initial inflammation, which it does.

Of course you don't freaking ice the injury as long as it persists. It's gonna take weeks to heal. The initial inflammation is what the ice is for, and it only lasts for the first few days.

For that much dang blood flow to get to the injury is sorta pointless if you haven't stopped the inflammation. That should be your first goal, getting more blood flow to the injury shouldn't.
It's like trying to do rehabilitation exercises before your injury is even in a condition to do so. It's not going to start healing until after that first inflammation has cleared up as much as possible. That's what ice helps expedite.

[Rahf]

Sprain = nice and tight supporting bandage after the initial icing.

[Domenow?]

sounds interesting

[Ashtar]

Ice is applied immediately to reduce swelling, but then afterwards you can apply warmth to comfort it and increase circulation. I think the main reason people ice/elevate is to avoid pain.

[Rahf]

Ice is applied immediately to reduce swelling, but then afterwards you can apply warmth to comfort it and increase circulation. I think the main reason people ice/elevate is to avoid pain.

Elevation is to reduce blood flow, it does not reduce pain. If you sprain something you should wrap the injured part in a tight bandage, keep it there for 20-25 minutes and then undo it. Ice can be administered now as pain relief. After giving the foot some chance to recover blood flow you wrap it again, though not as tight. The second bandage remains there for however long you need it to.

The first bandage needs to be removed prematurely if you suffer numbness due to restricted blood flow.

This is tried and tested by myself so don't bother asking for studies or proof. Satisfied?