Cold snap

[swestrup]

Well my wife taxlady thought that denizsarikaya's suggestion of ice on my booboos was a good idea. So here I am trying to type while holding a sweating icebag on my stiff knee. I'm not sure that this will do much more for me at this point than give me frostbite, but Bears are notoriously difficult to argue with. More news later, when and if any of my affected limbs get better, or fall off.

Comments

lol!

[denizsarikaya.livejournal.com]

Well, now I'm starting to worry you might not have been browbeaten into proper ice application. Too much is just as good as too little, you know.

So, the recommended schedule of icing for reducing swelling is as follows: 18 minutes on (in bag form), no more often than once an hour; 10 minutes on (in ice massage form), no more often than once an hour.

What's an ice massage, I hear you cry? That's usually used for shinsplints and suchlike. It's very rare I see people doing it for the knees, but here's what it is, anyway. You take paper Dixie cups, fill them with water, and freeze them. Now, you rip off enough of the rim to expose the ice, and start rubbing it over the bit that's affected. Warning: things will get very wet.

What about this ice pack? I think it's busted, I hear you cry again. Well, you should have something between the ice and your joint, but it shouldn't be too thick. Basically, you should feel the cold for the first two or three minutes, and it's okay if it's painful for about 30 seconds (more than that, and you're not putting anything but a plastic bag between your skin and the ice, are you, you naughty boy). After that, you should be mostly numb.

This coming from somebody who busted her hamstrings so badly that she was a member of (Physical) Trainers' team for a good trimester.

Re: lol!

[denizsarikaya.livejournal.com]

Oh, and to tie the ice on, you should use ace bandages. In a pinch, dish towels should do the trick, too.