My Life is Vital™ - Use RICE for Sports Injury Relief

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Use RICE for Sports Injury Relief

Vital Healthcare Group

Feeling pain after a workout? Maybe you have an injury and wonder how to treat it. You may want to grab a cold pack and use RICE for sports injury relief.

What is RICE?

RICE is the acronym for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. RICE is recommended as treatment for a new injury. If you get hurt and your injury is swollen, inflamed or red, then icing the injury may help prevent further inflammation.

How do I use RICE?

If you get a sports injury from playing football or other sport, treat it immediately with RICE (or Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Here’s how RICE works:

Rest the injured part (such as your ankle or leg))
Apply ice (ice pack or cold pack) to the injured part (20 minutes of icing and then 20 minutes off)
Now apply a snug elastic bandage to the injury for compression.
Keep the injured part elevated to prevent further inflammation or swelling.

How can a coldpack help an injury?

Ice and cold packs numb the injured area and also ease inflammation and swelling. These ice packs are also good for muscle soreness or other aches and pains you feel after a good workout or daily practice.

Where can I buy a cold pack?

You can purchase cold packs or ice packs at most pharmacies and grocery stores. Or you can make an instant cold pack from frozen bags of mixed vegetables. The bag of frozen vegetables is icy and pliable, so it conforms to most parts of the body.

There are also cooling sprays you can buy such as fluromethane. You can target the icy spray on an injured or painful area before and after your workout. Cooling an injured area helps to ease muscle pain, swelling, and spasms. Ask your coach where you can find cooling sprays.

Another option is to freeze a paper cup filled with water. Then the next time you feel achy and sore after practice, grab the frozen ice water, peel back the paper on the cup and ice down all your aches and pains to reduce swelling.

How often should I use a cold pack for muscle pain?

According to the American College of Rheumatology, 5 to 10-minute ice massages applied to a painful site within the first 2 days of injury or pain onset can help relieve pain. Other experts stick with the 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off for an acute injury.

Try to use applications of ice packs or cold packs at least twice a day or more for optimal relief from swelling, stiffness, pain or injury. But before using an ice pack or cold pack, make sure you protect your skin with a towel to avoid injury.