There’s an article in the New York Times this morning that furthers doubt about the efficacy of icing sore muscles. I wrote about this a little over a year ago when an earlier study came out.
Basically, this study says ice is good at numbing pain, but that it also reduces a muscle’s strength and power for up to 15 minutes after icing is ended. So using an ice pack on a strain in hopes of getting back in the game may well be counterproductive.
Getting some sort of handle on this is particularly important for those coaching kids, I think. And also for us old duffers who never know day to day if what we laughingly call our muscles are going to be friend or foe. Those prime-of-life characters can fend for themselves.
2 comments:
I have sent any number of disbelieving, finely-honed "athletes" to your old blog post about ice. All were disbelievers but now all are grateful.
When I say "finely-honed athletes" I mean walkers who have slipped and fallen after leaving the pub late on of an evening.
That's odd, Alan. That's precisely my definition of "finely-honed athletes," too.
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