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- American College of Sports Medicine: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
- American College of Sports Medicine: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
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According to the Sports Injury Info website, ice massage, a form of cryotherapy, is an effective treatment for musculoskeletal injuries 1. Ice massage, which may incorporate the use of ice cubes or ice packs, helps decrease pain, swelling and inflammation in injured tissues, and is applied in a way that mobilizes or massages your tissues to promote healing. Ice massage can be used for both acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions.
If you are experiencing serious medical symptoms, seek emergency treatment immediately.
Reduces Pain, Swelling & Inflammation
According to certified athletic trainer Terry Zeigler at SportsMD.com, ice massage is an effective therapeutic procedure to relieve acute or chronic pain, inflammation and post-surgical pain and swelling. Zeigler states that ice massage affects your body in numerous ways, including reducing blood flow to the area of injury, which reduces swelling 1. Ice massage acts as an analgesic or pain-reliever by numbing tissues, reducing muscle spasms and slowing tissue metabolism.
Lowers Your Metabolic Rate & Promotes Healing
How to Treat Severe Muscle Soreness From Weightlifting
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; 1999'). Secondary injury is caused by post-trauma hypoxia or tissue oxygen deficiency, and is due to the following factors: bleeding of injured blood vessels, hemostasis or the stoppage of bleeding and reduced blood flow due to increased blood viscosity or thickness.
Possible Relief From Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a painful and temporarily debilitating condition that you feel in your muscles for one to three days following strenuous exercise 5. Although it's often confused with regular muscle soreness, DOMS is more severe and lasts longer. Although DOMS typically disappears on its own after about 72 hours, you should consider seeking treatment to reduce the severity of symptoms, improve quality of life and regain ability to perform your normal activities of daily living. According to the Sports Injury Bulletin website, cryotherapy and ice massage may help alleviate the pain associated with DOMS, although the Sports Injury Bulletin website notes that more research is required to substantiate the use of cryotherapy and ice massage for DOMS 1.
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References
- Sports Injury Info: Ice Massage
- SportsMD.com: Using Cryotherapy to Reduce Pain and Swelling of Sports Injuries
- "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise;" A Preliminary Examination of Cryotherapy; Merrick et al.; 1999
- Physio Montréal: Cryotherapy
- American College of Sports Medicine: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
- Best TM, Hunter R, Wilcox A, Haq F. Effectiveness of Sports Massage for Recovery of Skeletal Muscle From Strenuous Exercise. Clin J Sport Med. 2008;18(5):446-60.
- Dupuy O, Douzi W, Theurot D, Bosquet L, Dugué B. An Evidence-Based Approach for Choosing Post-exercise Recovery Techniques to Reduce Markers of Muscle Damage, Soreness, Fatigue, and Inflammation: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. Front Physiol. 2018;9:403. Published 2018 Apr 26. doi:10.3389/fphys.2018.00403
- Kennedy AB, Patil N, Trilk JL. 'Recover Quicker, Train Harder, and Increase Flexibility': Massage Therapy for Elite Paracyclists, a Mixed-Methods Study. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2018;4(1):e000319. Published 2018 Jan 26. doi:10.1136/bmjsem-2017-000319
- Mine K, Lei D, Nakayama T. Is Pre-Performance Massage Effective to Improve Maximal Muscle Strength and Functional Performance? A Systematic Review. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2018;13(5):789-799.
- Wiltshire EV, Poitras V, Pak M, Hong T, Rayner J, Tschakovsky ME. Massage Impairs Postexercise Muscle Blood Flow and "Lactic Acid" Removal. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010;42(6):1062-7
Writer Bio
Martin Hughes is a chiropractic physician, health writer and the co-owner of a website devoted to natural footgear. He writes about health, fitness, diet and lifestyle. Hughes earned his Bachelor of Science in kinesiology at the University of Waterloo and his doctoral degree from Western States Chiropractic College in Portland, Ore.