One of the biggest things that I stress with my patients is movement. Even for the patients that aren't coming in for physical reasons, I still suggest movement (walking, hiking, biking...etc.) to help move through an emotion in a healthy manner.
Movement is an essential part of life.
Recent studies have shown and continue to show that icing (or R.I.C.E.) is no longer recommended for injuries. The healing process REQUIRES circulation of blood, energy and fluids to heal. Ice and cold just slow that process down.
“Nearly everyone who ices today,” says veteran athletic trainer Gary Reinl, “believes they’re doing it to prevent inflammation, reduce swelling, and control pain. But here’s the problem: Icing doesn’t prevent inflammation or swelling; it only delays it. Once tissues rewarm, the inflammatory process resumes and your body’s innate intelligence sends the correct amount of fluid to the damage site. Although icing can provide temporary pain relief, numbing just shuts off protective signals that alert you to harmful movement. And the Journal of Athletic Medicine Research recently showed that icing actually kills muscle cells.”
It can be a heated debate, but the patients that heal the quickest are the ones that include heat and movement into their healing processes. While ice can have it's place for the acute stage of injuries, patients are more interested in the long term healing process and result.
