A workout buddy of mine got me into icing here lately, specifically my lower back and shoulder. Recently I have acquired these minor injuries, probably just strains. He says he ices after almost every workout even if he feels okay for preventative maintenance. Is this common practice?
[quote]mattho wrote:
A workout buddy of mine got me into icing here lately, specifically my lower back and shoulder. Recently I have acquired these minor injuries, probably just strains. He says he ices after almost every workout even if he feels okay for preventative maintenance. Is this common practice?[/quote]
I dislocate/separate my shoulder quite often (sometimes 2 times a month) and I have found icing to be frawesome. It helps out pretty well with soreness too.
Maybe you should try an ice bath? It is one of the most intense experiences ever. Once you get past the minute mark it is not too bad cold wise and you can just chill (pun totally intended) in there for a while
Yes, lots of powerlifters use ice post workout.
Interesting. Thanks.
Some people are big supporters of icing post workouts, others are not. Those not in favor have the idea of “if it doesn’t hurt, why ice it” and some also believe that because the ice restricts blood vessels that it will decrease/delay the delivery of nutrients to the tissues post workout if you ice. I don’t quite buy into the decreased/delay of nutrients arguement as the venous system (which does not provide the nutrients to the tissues) will be effected first before the arterial system (which does provide the nutrients to the tissues). Though one could argue that the ice does delay the metabolism to the muscle so it may not process the nutrients as quickly, but I have not heard of any studies done nor do I think the effects would be that substantial.
As an example of athletes using ice as preventative means for soreness/muscle pain, during football summer camp, there is normally a line to get to the ice tubs after practice sessions and athletes commonly come to get ice bags after weights if they hit a particular body part hard.
As a general practice I do not ice often, but what I do after workouts especially is take my hot shower and stretch some in there, and once clean, I turn the temp down to just cold water and stand there for a minute or so.
I ice up when I have to. Mainly one shoulder when I over do it in the gym. I’ll clip a baggie of ice cubes under my shirt and let it sit there. Those lunch box ice packs are pretty good too, they stay colder longer.
BG
I ice massage before and after a hot if I feel like I pushed really hard on previous trouble spots, just incase they come up or if they let me knew just the slightest bit they were upset.
I Ice my shoulder/Upper trap area every night almost. I do have an injured shoulder and it really helps me a lot. I bought these ice packs that came with cloth bags with straps to hold better in certain areas. My question is it does not feel all that cold then. Should I have the pack directly against my skin or in that cloth bag it comes with?
generally you want to avoid direct application for long time. You want to cool the tissues underneath before getting your skin ice cold. I’d put it in the cloth bag and do it every hour instead of one long duration.
i tried ice packs once after a quad dominant workout and i was expecting massive soreness the next day because I came out of the gym shattered (and usually i get more soreness on the lower body), but I had very little soreness the next day. So for me personally, it reduced DOMS, but im not sure if it was a good thing. This is because I am not exactly sure if I improved the next week, but I have been having exams lately and my general performance in the gym has been dropping week on week so this could have effected the benefits of icing.