February 2021 - 33

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Here's Why You
Should Stop Icing
Your Athletes.
Phil Harrington, DC, CMLSO, FASMLS
Medical Director, Clinical Manager & Laser Safety Officer
At Summus Medical Laser
Your team is on a run, playing the best they have all
year when suddenly the starting point guard drives
hard to the basket, steps on an opponent's foot and
suffers a sprained ankle. Not bad enough to end his
season, but it will disrupt team chemistry leasing to
the conference tournament.
remodeling and maturation. Interrupting the first
stage - inflammation - will adversely affect the
timing and effectiveness of the subsequent
three stages.
What do you do?
For years, ice has been used to treat acute injuries
under the premise that it alleviates pain, reduces
tissue metabolism, and reduces swelling. It has been
a standard treatment for injuries and sore muscles
because it helps to relieve pain caused by injured
tissue. Trainers have used the " RICE " (rest, ice,
compression, elevation) guideline for decades, but
now it appears that both ice and immobilization may
delay healing.
Dr. Gabe Mirkin who coined the term RICE in 1978,
points out that healing requires inflammation; and
anything that reduces or suppresses inflammation
will also delays healing. This would include ice,
along with cortisone injections, non-steroidal antiinflammatories,
and immune suppressants.
" Applying ice to injured tissue causes blood
vessels near the injury to constrict and shut off
the blood flow that brings in the healing cells
of inflammation " , wrote Dr. Mirkin. " When you
damage tissue through trauma or develop muscle
soreness by exercising very intensely, you heal
by using your immunity, the same biological
mechanisms that you use to kill germs. This is
called inflammation. "
Normal injury healing progresses sequentially
through the stages of inflammation, proliferation,
So, if you plunge the point guard's foot and ankle
into an ice bath, and then advise him to apply ice
several times a day, you are making the injury worse,
not better. Icing injured tissue causes constriction
of blood vessels near the injury which shuts off
the blood flow that brings in the healing cells
of inflammation.
What's a better solution?
Photobiomodulation (PBM), more commonly
known as laser therapy. Therapeutic laser devices
deliver red and infrared wavelengths of light to
both superficial and deep tissues to enhance blood
circulation, increase tissue oxygenation and improve
metabolic activity. In turn this helps the body
progress through the healing stages of inflammation,
proliferation, remodeling and maturation. Treatments
with a class 4 therapeutic laser are safe and noninvasive
and can be applied immediately after injury.
So instead of delaying your point guard's recovery
with ice, consider getting him back on the court
more quickly with laser therapy.
Find out why so many professional and
collegiate teams use therapeutic lasers
from Summus Medical Laser
summuslaser.com
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http://www.summuslaser.com
February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2021
