Bodys natural healing process

[Chris Kimmerly]

If the bodys natural healing process is to swell when an injury occurs then why do people put ice on it. I know to stop swelling and to help with pain but why stop this process.

Just looking for people thoughts on this.

[ludichris]

I guess it's somewhat of the same reason we take medicine to prevent us to throw up when infact... throwing up is your bodies way of rejecting something (similar to healing).

(here is a copy and paste)

The swelling and much of the inflammation that follows an injury is largely due to the leakage of blood from the ruptured capillaries. Therefore, ice is applied first.
This constriction of the blood vessels prevents further leakage of blood and serum and minimizes swelling and pain. The cold from an ice pack application also has an added benefit of providing pain relief.

In fact, the optimal management of an acute injury can easily be remembered using the acronym, RICE:

Rest (minimize movement of the injured body part)

Ice (apply a cold pack)

Compression (light pressure wrap to the affected body part can help minimize leakage of blood and swelling)

Elevation (raise the body part up so that the pressure from the blood and tissue swelling the affected area is reduced as the fluids drain from the area by gravity)

How does ice help after an injury and how might heat hurt?

As stated above, icing the injured tissues helps by limiting the leakage of blood and serum from the capillaries into the adjacent tissues. Ice also prevents swelling. In contrast, heating tissues causes the capillaries to widen. This widening can cause an increase in the leakage of blood from the capillaries and add to the swelling and pain. It is important to note that the blood that leaks into the tissues will later lead to inflammation, which slows the healing process. (they have done clinical studies on this)

What about recovery after the injury?

The days after an injury, when the tissues are healing, require a different approach from the immediate treatment. Now, the blood leakage from the injured capillaries has generally stopped because the capillaries have been naturally plugged by microscopic blood clots in the repair process. The blood that remains in the tissues needs to be reabsorbed by the body. At this time, heat applications can help, especially prior to recovery exercise workouts. The heat provides an additional benefit by relaxing the muscles of the injured area so that the workouts can occur as safely as possible. Frequently, immediately after a recovery workout, ice is applied so that leakage of serum and/or blood from any capillaries that are disrupted during the workout is minimized.

[deadlyshaolin]

Sometimes the body overdoes the healing process so that it becomes inappropriate.

Most autoimmune diseases can be thought of in this paradigm, e.g. lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes. Most pathological inflammatory processes fal into this category as well e.g. asthma, tendonitis, bursitis, etc.

Anti-inflammatories (Advil, Motrin etc) and corticosteroids both "interfere" with the body's "natural" healing process, but are necessary because your body is overdoing it.