Icing an injury

[withm]

OK so I have a rotator cuff impingemet going on which pretty much means it hurts to move my arm almost anywhere. I'm going to PT 2x/wk, and doing my homework stretches religiously cause I want this GONE.

So I'm supposed to ice it after working out or stretching.... Now here's the kicker - work all day, go straight to gym where I do elliptical and mostly lower body, and a few of my RC stretches. Come home - with full intent to sit down with ice for 15 minutes, but get distracted with phone calls, dinner, mail, and now it's going on 8pm and all my good stretches were couple hours ago.

So the question is, is it too late to ice the injury at that point, or would you ice it anyway even though much time has passed since the major activity? Do you lose a lot by not icing right away? What is the ideal window of opportunity for icing an injury? Yeah, I'll ask the PT on Wed when I go next time, but in the meantime I put it to the smart people here for opinions.

[Zen]

but in the meantime I put it to the smart people here for opinions.

Ah, I can go back to watching cartoons then :D

[withm]

Ah, I can go back to watching cartoons then :D

Oh pooooo. Zen, you are usually much more knowledgeable about these things. Who are you and what have you done with Zen?

[Eden]

I'd ice anyway (actually I'd alternate ice and heat - my coach who is also a PT put me on to that and it works really well - at least for acute injuries). The ice is meant to reduce inflammation and the heat, I think, increases blood flow. Unless you think the inflammation has already gone away by the time you get around to icing, then it should do some good no matter when you do it.

[OakLeaf]

Only tangential, but did you ask your PT about doing the elliptical? It seems like a bad idea to keep your arms raised and extended for so long - especially with the long reach required for most women who're too small for the big machines. Makes my rotators hurt just thinking about it...

[rocknrollgirl]

Can you ice in transit? An ice pack and an ace bandage would probably do the trick for the ride home from the gym. I travel long distances to train and race and I ice in transit all the time.

[ny biker]

When my knee hurts I ice it whenever. Hours after a ride, when I get up in the morning, whatever. It always seems to help.

[Becky]

Can you ice in transit? An ice pack and an ace bandage would probably do the trick for the ride home from the gym.

I have an awesome clay pack that came with a cover and attached elastic & velcro strap. It works great for icing/heating on the move. I think I found it at Walmart of all places.

[withm]

I have an awesome clay pack that came with a cover and attached elastic & velcro strap. It works great for icing/heating on the move. I think I found it at Walmart of all places.

Becky - do you have a link or a name or a photo of this pack? I'd be curious to know more about it. I'm sort of flooded out this weekend so can't go up to Walmart until the water recedes in a couple of days.

As far as the other comments - I think that "ice is nice" pretty much anytime you use it, but I suspect it's probably better to ice immediately after exercise - but like I said, I'll ask the PT on Wed.

He's OK with the elliptical - I can raise my arm that far, and it's a gentle motion which helps to maintain/improve my range of motion. It doesn't seem to bother it so I'll continue, building up gradually. I stop everything as soon as I get even a twinge. Including sleeping it seems.

As for icing on the move - well I have no way to keep the ice pack frozen all day at work, or at the gym, and can't figure out a way to hold it on my shoulder and drive at the same time. So while it would probably work well for other body parts I don't think I can make that one work even if I could keep it frozen till I needed it.

On the other hand, I have got a little improvement on the range of motion but it's going to take a while before the pain is gone, and probably a year before I could even think about swimming again. I am a true believer in PT and really appreciate the input by all the PT types on here. If I wasn't thinking more about retirement instead of a 3rd career, I'd seriously think about going back to school for PT. They work miracles!

[Becky]

Becky - do you have a link or a name or a photo of this pack? I'd be curious to know more about it.


Here's a link to the product: http://www.thermipaq.com/thermipaq.html. I have the smaller one (6" x 12"), and it's been perfect.

[Eden]

This product is a bit pricey and not shoulder specific, but does offer a solution for not having a freezer - they offer a bottle that keeps the cold pack frozen for up to 6 hours. http://www.gomoji.com/products/moji_to_go/2.php

they only offer knee and back specific products right now, but they are pretty cool (I've tried on the knee model - its comfy).

My other thought was if you are driving you could possibly strap the ice pack to the car seat rather than trying to put it on your body and still get some decent icing in, as long as you don't sit slumped.

[NadiaMac]

Can you get ice at the gym? If so, all you need to ice is a suitable plastic bag

I ice my shoulder in the car by lashing it on with an ace bandage. This is a bit tough to do by yourself, but doable. You need a long, wide ace bandage

[beccaB]

A physical therapist told me to ice my elbow tendonitis with a dixie cup that I had frozen water in-then peel some of the paper away and rub the ice in a circular motion until the area is numb. It seems to take less time than sitting with an ice pack. I did that to my knee and I got hives. Weird. It might be hard to reach your shoulder that way, you'd probably have to get someone else to do it.

[Cataboo]

Here's a link to the product: http://www.thermipaq.com/thermipaq.html. I have the smaller one (6" x 12"), and it's been perfect.

I have one of those I got from target.

[withm]

These are all good ideas. I talked about this with the PT this morning, and he says just to ice it, and if it's an hour or two after the workout that's still OK. Ice later is still better than no ice at all. In other words, just do it.

Which is good because where I need the ice to work really requires leaning back into a chair or lying down and holding the corner of the ice pack to wrap around my shoulder and upper arm with the other arm which is something that just ain't gonna work while driving a car, especially since I need the other arm free for shifting gears. Someday I'll get over always having stickshift cars. Besides the ride home from the gym is only 2 miles so normally there is not so much delay - as long as I don't answer the phone when it rings.