Jonathan Cluett, MD, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with subspecialty training in sports medicine and arthroscopic surgery.

Mohamad Hassan, PT, DPT, diagnoses neuromuscular and orthopedic conditions, including sprains, strains, and post-operation fractures and tears. 

It's common to ice an injury. Icing may be used for sprains, strains, overuse injuries, and bruises.

Applying ice has been thought to help decrease swelling and inflammation, as well as reduce pain. However, icing doesn't speed up healing.

There are some details to keep in mind to make the icing treatment safer and more effective. This article explains how to properly ice your injury.

To do it right, follow these steps:

While ice is often helpful after an injury, it is not beneficial—and may be harmful—if you're icing an area of the body that has open wounds, problems with blood flow, neuropathy that has affected sensation, or a muscle spasm.

Do not allow ice to sit directly on the skin. Use a thin towel between the ice and your skin and do an ice massage to prevent the area from getting too cold.

There are a variety of ways you can apply cold to your injury.

If you have an injury that you plan on icing, keep in mind the following tips.

When applying cold to your injury, you may consider using a bag or cup of ice, frozen foods, or icing products made for specific injuries.

Using ice to reduce pain and swelling after an injury is pretty common. If you have concerns about how long you should ice a specific injury, or you are not noticing any improvement, be sure to reach out to a healthcare provider. Try to take it easy and allow your body to rest as your injury heals.

Nemet D, Meckel Y, Bar-Sela S, Zaldivar F, Cooper DM, Eliakim A. Effect of local cold-pack application on systemic anabolic and inflammatory response to sprint-interval training: a prospective comparative trial. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2009;107(4):411-417. doi:10.1007/s00421-009-1138-y

Michigan Medicine. Rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE).

Wang ZR, Ni GX. Is it time to put traditional cold therapy in rehabilitation of soft-tissue injuries out to pasture? WJCC. 2021;9(17):4116-4122. doi:10.12998/wjcc.v9.i17.4116

By Jonathan Cluett, MD Jonathan Cluett, MD, is board-certified in orthopedic surgery. He served as assistant team physician to Chivas USA (Major League Soccer) and the United States men's and women's national soccer teams.

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