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

[withm]

Ah, I can go back to watching cartoons then

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.