This is the first in a three-part piece exploring the several benefits of cryotherapy.

I must bring to the readers’ collective attention once more the importance and benefits of using ice at home.

Ice is a wonderful, practically free therapy that can be utilised for many different things, including pain management and many other beneficial effects.

Placing an ice pack on an affected area not only numbs pain and discomfort, but does a tremendously effective job combatting inflammation and localised swelling, soothing sore muscles, alleviating muscle spasms, and promoting the healing process of tissues by forming blood clots on the cellular level.

The key to using ice is vital, however. Here is the secret: It must be applied directly to the localised area for exactly 20 minutes — no more, and no less.

Less time does not reap its benefits, and more time begins to reverse the effect of ice to mimic heat by causing vasodilation because the brain may think the tissue is freezing.

If someone has ever recommended ice because of the benefits it offers but did not mention that ice is most effective at the 20-minute mark, then they are ignorant to how ice affects the human body, or, they are intentionally misdirecting you so that you will not reap the benefits of cryotherapy and become disinterested in its application, that is your therapist recommending ice for five-, 10- or 15-minute intervals. Once you abandon it, you return willingly to repeated exposure to hot packs, pain pills and anti-inflammatories.

Physiologically, ice has certain effects upon human tissues and each stage must be accomplished for beneficial results.

CBAN is a mnemonic for Cold, Burning, Aching, Numb. Each stage takes five minutes to complete. The first stage or first five minutes is obviously how ice will feel when initially placed upon the skin and tissues. Of course, it is recommended to have a thin layer of paper towel, or a thin T-shirt between the ice and the skin, especially if you have an intolerance for contact with ice. The second stage is when the ice is so cold that it is actually perceived as being “hot” or “burning”. This is when many people take it off and fear it is making the situation worse. The third stage is when most people totally quit and are lulled into believing that the ice is not helping or is making the situation much worse. Bear with it and you will soon reap the reward. Stick it out for the final five minutes and you will then cross the threshold to the final stage, which is complete numbness. This can be blissful and is achieved at the 20-minute mark. This is when your pain simply vanishes. This is also when all of the therapeutic effects are climaxed. The proverbial perseverance that allows you to reach the finish line.

Ice is also a wonderfully effective method for relieving the excruciating symptoms of true migraines, which are vascular by nature. The effect of ice will combat the blood pooling in the skull, increasing pressure upon the brain and brain stem. This pressure is the source of the unbearable pain, and the problems with seeing, hearing and nausea associated with a true migraine headache.

You can repeat this process as often as needed, as long as you give the tissues 30 minutes to re-stabilise. This process can be repeated every hour if need be.

In early stages of injury, it is recommended at least three times per day, even when pain levels may be decreasing because the goal is to decrease muscle spasms, decrease inflammation, and promote the healing of the tissues.

Heat should not be used when inflammation is present. Heat is a good way to relax muscles and to sooth soreness when the area is stable and the tissues are healthy and strong.

Superficial heat such as hot packs or heating pads can feel soothing while they are being applied, but in reality, they keep the injured tissues in a constant state of inflammation and swelling. The time lag is too long for the recipient to notice and they falsely assume that repeated heating will continue to soothe them.

Heat causes vasodilation. This increases the pressure in the surrounding tissues, even though it temporarily lowers systemic blood pressure, because the blood vessels expand filling with more volume. Furthermore, the swelling and much of the inflammation that follows an injury is largely due to the leakage of blood and serum from the ruptured capillaries; therefore, cold applications with ice can help by causing the blood vessels to constrict or clamp down. This vasoconstriction of the blood vessels prevents further leakage of blood and serum and minimises swelling and discomfort. The cold from an ice pack application also has an added benefit of numbing the tissues and nerve endings, providing relief from pain. Ice is practically free, and has no negative “side effects” on the body, its organs or its systems.

Don’t forget to “Ask Your Chiropractor” every week where your questions may be published and answered in subsequent articles. Address questions to: Dr Chris Davis, the Spinal Mechanic and lead doctor, at movethebone@gmail.com; or, Dr Michael Harvey, director, at dr.michael_harvey@yahoo.com.