CHARLOTTE – There are so many opinions of how ice can be incorporated into your health routine, especially when dealing with therapeutic massages where recovery and healing is encouraged.
I’ve heard all sorts of ideas. Ice on muscles not on joints. Ice on joints, not soft tissue. No ice at all. No ice on inflammation. I’ve even heard no ice at all after an injury because the body is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do (by swelling and sending extra blood and fluids to the injury site. Adding ice can limit or slow this reaction.) I looked for studies that show the advantages of ice on sore muscles/joints or with nerve pain relief and didn’t find any that I could discuss. So let’s talk about what happens in my practice and personal experience.
Personally, ice seems best used after a massage when I have an active nerve issue or pain in my shoulder or my lower back. It actually dulls the pain.
What should you do after a massage where you have soreness? Your massage therapist can NEVER tell you to take medications (over the counter or otherwise). Personally, I have benefitted from not taking medication and using ice on a sore low back or sore shoulder. I’ve had better results than had I used heat. Massage can certainly have an effect of you sometimes feeling worse after a session before you feel better. That’s why we generally tell you to wait 48-72 hours before you judge the helpfulness of the massage.
-Lisa Lane #13098 has been a Licensed Massage and Bodywork therapist in the Mint Hill area for almost 10 years. To book, please visit www.ncmassagesanctaury.massagetherapy.com and click ‘book appt’.
