Cryotherapy in ankle sprains

Abstract

This study assesses recovery from ankle sprains. Thirty-seven final participants were categorized according to the severity of their injury and the use of cryotherapy (15 minutes, one to three times per day) versus heat therapy (15 minutes, one to three times per day) for a minimum of three days. Therapy commenced either less than one hour, from one to 36 hours, or greater than 36 hours after traumatic event. Sprains were graded into five categories based on severity of the injury, but only two categories, subject to conservative treatment, are considered in this study. The study showed that cryotherapy started within 36 hours after the injury was statistically more effective than heat therapy for complete and rapid recovery. Patients in a group with Grade four sprains (unable to bear weight because of pain) reached full activity in 13.2 days compared to 30.4 days in a group using cryotherapy initiated 36 hours after injury or to 33.3 days in a group using heat therapy. Therefore, early use of cryotherapy, continued with adhesive compression, is an effective treatment of ankle sprains yielding earlier complete recovery than late cryotherapy or heat therapy.

Comparisons of Cubed Ice, Crushed Ice, and Wetted Ice on Intramuscular and Surface Temperature Changes

“…Previous research [1][2][3][4][5][6] has shown that decreasing tissue temperature decreases pain, edema, nerve conduction, cellular metabolism, and local blood flow. Although researchers have not reached consensus regarding ideal tissue temperature after injury, Merrick et al 9 suggested that, in the absence of definitive data, better treatment outcomes may result from greater and faster cooling.…”

“…1,2 Ice is believed to help control pain by inducing local anesthesia around the treatment area. 3 Investigators have also shown that it decreases edema, 4 nerve conduction velocities, 5 cellular metabolism, 6 and local blood flow. 2 Researchers have studied the thermal effects of many methods of cold application by specifically looking at cutaneous and intramuscular tissue temperature change, [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] the relationship between temperature change and the depth of the targeted tissue, 7 and the type of cold application used.…”

Pattern of muscle injuries and predictors of return-to-play duration among Malaysian athletes

“…(27) In addition, early use of cryotherapy hastens regeneration and has been associated with significantly smaller haematomas, less inflammation and less tissue necrosis. (1,29) Educating athletes on the importance of early medical consultation following injury and improving medical accessibility (e.g. having readily available onsite medical patterns of movements after injury.…”

The effect of intermittent cryotherapy on the activities of citrate synthase and lactate dehydrogenase in regenerating skeletal muscle

“…Some studies have suggested that cryotherapy in acute injuries has beneficial effects, due to metabolism reduction than to circulatory changes (Hocutt 1982;Knight 1985;Schaser et al 2007). Previous works have shown that three intermittent sessions of cryotherapy, associated to muscle compression and applied immediately after primary muscle injury, were effective to reduce the area of secondary injury.…”