Cold therapy using ice has many applications. Ice massage is used for muscle pain to break the self-perpetuating cycle of muscle spasm. It is effective for a severe bruise or hematoma that results from direct trauma such as a bite or kick, trauma from concussion such as splints or bucked shins, an intramuscular injection reaction, and acute tendinitis. Ice massage is done for 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the depth of tissue involved. Deep muscle takes longer to cool than tendons or ligaments beneath the skin.
Ice applied directly over a bony area can be painful.
Ice massage provides a proactive way to address the symptoms of injury or post-surgical swelling and pain. Pain Relief Cold applications have a direct effect on the conduction velocity of sensory nerves, which carry pain messages to the brain. In a classic study, a 20-minute application of ice packs slowed nerve conduction significantly enough to provide analgesia. Cryotherapy is one of the most frequently used modalities for pain relief in orthopedic injury care in humans. The use of ice massage or ice packs results in a decreased need for injected and oral analgesic medications following orthopedic surgery.