Can you do harm by icing too much?

[Liz CA]

Now and then back issue flares up. Been to chiro but still had occasional soreness / inflammation and resulting shooting pain.

I am icing a lot and it feels better. Is there such a thing as overdoing it with icing?

I called the chiro office and the assistant replied: "I don't know but I don't think so."

I knew I could get a better answer here.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Well, technically, you could get frost bite if you left the ice directly on skin.  But otherwise, not really.  I suppose that your muscles could tense up more from the cold if you overdid it but then you would start to feel worse not better.  Ice is usually to bring down inflammation. 

 

I like to alternate ice and heat. 

 

edited because I hit post before I proofread for spelling errors. 

Edited May 26, 2017 by Jean in Newcastle

[Guest]

Now and then back issue flares up. Been to chiro but still had occasional soreness / inflammation and resulting shooting pain.

I am icing a lot and it feels better. Is there such a thing as overdoing it with icing?

I called the chiro office and the assistant replied: "I don't know but I don't think so."

I knew I could get a better answer here.

 

I have been told not to ice for longer than 15-20 minutes at a time, but never any limits on frequency.

[HSmomof2]

I was told by the dr at the ER when I hurt my knee to not ice longer than 15 min at a time. He said what happens after 15 min is that your body identifies that area is getting too cold and sends blood there to try to warm up, which counteracts reducing inflammation with the cold in the first place. He told me to ice 15 min, 3-4 times per day.

[Liz CA]

Thank you. This is reassuring. I wonder if I add icing to my daily routine would I prevent it from flaring up ever again? Or am I dreaming here?

[MercyA]

I thought you meant frosting.  :(  And I was all like, heck no!!! 

 

Hope you feel better.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Thank you. This is reassuring. I wonder if I add icing to my daily routine would I prevent it from flaring up ever again? Or am I dreaming here?

Make it chocolate icing and you're good.

[katilac]

Thank you. This is reassuring. I wonder if I add icing to my daily routine would I prevent it from flaring up ever again? Or am I dreaming here?

 

I would definitely try it, it's always better to prevent and it's not going to hurt. 

 

Turmeric (the spice, in capsules) is also good for inflammation, you take it everyday as a proactive step, not in reaction to a flare. Our bottle states to take one pill 3x daily, but dh and I both just take one per day with our vitamin. I think it can be good to start with the 3 pills at first, but we remember the one pill and it does help. 

 

My true miracle for back pain has been yoga! And not serious yoga - I started with our Wii Fit and never expanded much beyond a book of poses (which is helpful because it has a lot of pictures and details). My back is so much better now at 50 than it was in my 20s, it's insane. If you haven't tried yoga, you might want to start (very gently) when you are in a 'good' phase. There's no need to push, you will gradually be able to do more as long as you do it fairly regularly. 

 

*reminds self to do yoga tomorrow*

[Carrie12345]

I thought you meant frosting.  :(  And I was all like, heck no!!! 

 

Hope you feel better.

 

My brain went there, too!  My response was "diabetes", lol.

[Valley Girl]

I thought you meant frosting.  :(  And I was all like, heck no!!! 

 

Hope you feel better.

 

As long as it's homemade. Has to be homemade.

[Liz CA]

Make it chocolate icing and you're good.

 

 

My brain went there, too!  My response was "diabetes", lol.

 

 

As long as it's homemade. Has to be homemade.

 

 

With this kind of icing, I'd like to lick it off but then I would have to twist my back and that could really do some harm....