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Cold therapy plastic ice bags, hands down, have more applications than any other treatment in an athletic trainers tool kit. Ice bags direct provides a specific line of simple therapy products for ice-cold therapeutic uses. A simple plastic ice bag can help the athlete get back in the game whether it is the weekend warrior or the pro.

Deciding when to use athletic ice bags when an injury occurs or for general-purpose physical therapy, it is important to understand how body tissues react to ice and treatment length.

Using bags of ice on an injury causes several changes within the body.

First - Ice narrows the blood capillaries to decrease swelling while also decreasing the sensation of pain. (When ice is applied to the skin, the narrowing of blood vessel occurs due to a reflex action of local smooth muscle. In the case of an immediate injury, there will be a decrease in the swelling, if ice is applied as soon as possible. If swelling has already occurred, ice will not be of many benefits to reduce swelling.)

Second - Ice helps to reduce the sensation of pain. (Cold decreases the nerve’s ability to respond to stimuli, thereby increasing the pain threshold. The area being iced does not automatically achieve this state of numbness. There is a progression in sensation

  1. Feeling cold
  2. Light burning sensation
  3. Aching
  4. Numbness

These stages can take between 12 to 20 minutes. Suggested therapy time for the icing, ranges from 20 minutes to 1/2 hour to achieve the full benefit.

When using bagged ice for treatment, exposure times should not exceed 20 minutes for every hour used. Due to the consequences associated with overexposure to the subfreezing temperatures which can result in frostbite, nerve paralysis may occur when cold is applied to nerves that are close to the surface of the skin.

Try our in-stock plastic ice bags that compare to:

  • Medco Sports Medicine University Ice Bags
  • Muller Ice bags
  • Cramer Heavy Duty Ice bags
  • Eline Ice bags
  • Pull-n-pack Ice bags
  • School Health Brand
  • Vortex Brand Ice Bags.

Here are some helpful articles that you may find beneficial when deciding the best form of action to take when using plastic ice bags to reduce swelling.

Kaiser Permanente

Using Ice and Cold Packs

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