Why Ice and Anti-inflammatory Medication is NOT the Answer

Why Ice and Anti-inflammatory Medication is NOT the Answer
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Why Ice and Anti-inflammatory Medication is NOT the Answer
Inflammation is a physiological process in the body to repair damaged tissue. The body tries to protect the damaged tissue in this process from harmful bacteria and infections that could prevent the healing process. When body tissue is injured, the body attempts to remove the damaged part through the lymphatic method, which means the blood flow and the inflammatory cells will increase, leading to the swelling of the injured body part (Han, (2019). However, people use different treatments to stop or reduce inflammation, like ice, compression, massage, and other drugs. Some research, however, is against cryotherapy in inflammation treatment because they believe that inflammation is a natural process that should not be interfered with.
According to research by Johnston (2022), when body tissue is injured, inflammatory cells form around the damaged tissue to help remove the dead cells and prevent infection through a process known as phagocytosis. Therefore, the interference of the process by using ice and other cold substances around the tissue is said to delay the healing process. In most cases, people use ice where there is inflammation, thinking it helps in recovery. When there is inflammation, it is through the lymphatic process that the excess fluid is drained from the muscle tissue hence the healing process. Inflammation is not harmful because the body responds to a tissue injury, which means that the initial healing process has begun.
In cases where there is swelling, the lymphatic process is slow. Some medical practitioners use RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) to treat inflammation. Though the rest of the injured tissue is not visible, physical activity can help in good blood flow, hence the dead cells' regeneration much faster. Additionally, when the injured muscle is active, the swelling around that area reduces, improving the healing process. Ice reduces the flow of blood to the injured part, therefore, reducing pain, while compression help in addition to pressure around the damaged tissue, which reduces the swelling. However, medical practitioners advise compression to be accompanied by some light exercises. Lastly, the elevation method is not encouraged because it does not help with inflammation. Therefore, during an inflammation, RICE should be used carefully, whereby the steps should be combined to bring the best of each other in the healing of inflammation.
On the other hand, treatment of inflammation using ice is believed to prevent healthy cells around the injured tissue from dying, getting infected, or from a secondary injury. Additio...