Cold Therapy

Cold therapy or ice therapy for soft tissue injury (Dr..I.C.E.) should be applied for the first 24 to 48 hours after injury, although ice can also be beneficial in the later stages of treatment.

* D is for diagnosis  - an accurate diagnosis
* R is for Rest - This slows down any bleeding and reduces the risk of further damage. 
* I is for Ice - This can ease the pain, reduce swelling, reduce bleeding (initially) and encourage blood flow (later).
* C is for compression - This reduces bleeding and reduces swelling.
* E is for Elevation - Uses gravity to reduce bleeding and reduces swelling by allowing fluids to flow away from the site of injury.

How can I apply cold therapy?

* Cold therapy can be applied in a number of ways with different products but the principles remain the same. Cold is not put into the body but heat is taken out. So anything that is colder than the body tissues will cause heat to be removed from the body.
* If using ice, it should never be applied directly to the skin but in a wet tea towel to prevent ice burns.
* Apply the ice for about 15 minutes every 2 hours. This will vary depending on the size of the area and depth of the tissue. This can be reduced gradually over the next 24 hours.
* If you have a bad circulation condition in a specific area then you should not apply ice to that area, or if you have a cold allergy.

What about cold therapy gels?

* Cold therapy gels can play a part in treatment and rehabilitation but should not be used as a substitute for proper cold therapy and compression. They will draw heat out over a longer period of time and are convenient to apply throughout the day reducing pain and inflammation but cannot remove large amounts of heat from the body in the way ice or other cold therapy products can.

In the first 24 hours you should not:

* Apply heat
* Apply a heat rub
* Drink alcohol (even if you play Rugby)
* Have a deep massage.

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[womens rugby]

und hohe wahrscheinlichkeit fuer meniskusanriss. bis do. mal abwarten, dann mrt und je nachdem op. nicht schoen.