Rejoice! Experts say we should avoid ice after meets or workouts
Several stories are linking to this BeCalm treatise saying ice as in RICE therapy is a bad thing. In other words, no more ice baths after workouts or between events. I neved liked them anyway. In fact, the guy who invented the Rest-Ice-Compression-Elevation mnemonic now swears against it. “In this document, we will introduce you to the latest buy zovirax research and explain why it points us in a different direction, away from the ice bag,” says the BeCalm folks. “We will explain how ice interferes with the healing process and present a new strategy for dealing with injury, one that is supported by the research.” My advice? Chill out.
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Dr Gabe Mirkin coined the RICE eponym and has since retracted the Ice part of it, elevation, compression and motion within the boundaries of what is tolerable is the new mantra. While we are on the topic (NSAIDS) non steroidals i.e. Aleve, Motrin, Ibuprofen etc, are also no longer in vogue as they inhibit inflammation which is and always has been the first step in healing.
I cannot tolerate actual ice baths or really cold mountain water for that matter. But I have read that cool water, mid-50s I believe, is ideal and better than actual ice water.
In a related sense of “Health and well-being”, the band Genesis summed it up on the album “We Can’t Dance” in 1991 with these lyrics from the song “Living Forever”:
I’m feeling so confused today
They’ve gone and changed the rules again
Cos in my life I’m trying hard
To do it all so I can remain
Healthy and sane
I’ll live forever, always one more tomorrow
Living forever, always one more tomorrow
I heard it on the radio
Too much of what they said wasn’t so
And now we’ve got to do those things
That they thought before were so wrong
To be healthy and strong
Living forever…
Hoooray!!! No ice baths… …never did them, now I don’t feel guilty about it.
One of my former training partners was a Doctor that travelled to China (where he was born, but left as an infant) on several occasions to take some traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture courses and he told us that traditional Chinese medicine did not use ice for anything. That was about 20 years ago.
As a matter of fact, Annie, my late brother Al, a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, warned me against drinks with too much ice. But I still do it.
I just read an advice from a spiritual master almost 100 years ago:
“Healing with ice is not natural. Nature doesn’t heal in this way…”
So, the Chinese are right. Wise nation, in general.
He recommended sweating (for cleaning the body of toxins).
Other advises of his:
“Never drink cold water”.
“Never over-strain yourself”.
“Nature doesn’t like sharp movements – a lot of body energy is wasted in them”.
Let’s confess – many of us, the masters athletes, violate these rules.
I always prefer the Vowel Therapy:
Ice
Ibuprofen
Elevation
Alcohol
Excuses
Don’t get too carried away.
The research says icing for injury probably a Bad Idea as it interferes with the necessary inflammatory part of the healing response, but ice between events/heats (for example at a championshiip) meet, remains a Good Idea.
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