Just today, I had a patient come into my office in Livermore asking me about when she should ice and how often. I wanted to share the general rules of icing and the cheapest best ice pack ever!
1. It’s best to ice within 2 days of an injury or an exacerbation of an injury.
2. Always ice for up to 20 minutes MAXIMUM but no less than 15. This is important because if you ice for longer than 20 minutes it will reverse the effect of decreasing the swelling!
3. For a chronic injury you can alternate ice and heat.
That’s as simple as it is for the rules. Now for my recipe…
Mix water in a good sealed ziplock bag with alcohol (can use old vodka, gin, or any other except wine). Use 1 cup water and 1/2 cup alcohol and freeze! It will be a slushy, moldable icepack that is better than the one’s you buy.
Just don’t drink it all down when it melts!
And if you still don’t feel better after icing, get into see us…(925)960-1960
