Oh thank you! I hate using cold on injuries. I refuse to do it. Now I know my instinct was right. Where I failed is in resting too much. Especially now that I am old!
Sometimes rest is good though. To refresh. Our bodies take a lot of abuse and I think that if I feel the need to rest then I will try. Like a reset. Our bodies communicate with our brain and soul, and spirit every day. We just need to follow our intuitions. Stay healthy.
Dr. Berg, I just love your early morning videos. You are as constant as the sunrise. Stay strong, healthy & safe forever! We need your positive input each day. Thank you, Dr. Berg!
The one thing I love about Dr Berg is the fact that he lays out the issues, explains what it is/what happens, and lays out the best method of treatment! Thank you!💞
I’m a PT student right now and this is 100% true. My teachers do tell us to ice especially if we are going to be doing subsequent therapy exercise, but ice should not be the main modality to heal an injury with inflammation. Motion is lotion with any injury unless stated otherwise by your surgeon/physician. Love this video
*PERFECT TIMING!!!* Just strained ( hyperflexion ) the toes of my right foot and it was initially doing better _while using it_ . After a day of immobilization, ice, elevation and rest, and due to this video.... I am walking gently and moving them. For my entire life, I was taught WRONG AMA nonsense. Has the AMA ever been correct ???
As a head athletic trainer for the past two decades all I treat is musculoskeletal injuries. I can say with certainty that cryotherapy is a useful modality for the first 24-48 hours after the initial acute injury simply for controlling the muscle spasm pain cycle during that time and no more. Especially if you don’t have access to or don’t want to incorporate pharmaceutical modalities (i.e minors, those with known contraindications etc) If someone comes into my training room on a Monday after they injured themselves on a Friday it is already to late to use a cryotherapy modality. Also any modality you choose be it a cryotherapy, thermotherapy, mechanical, pharmaceutical or electrical is no where near as effective until you begin to combine two or more as a form of treatment. I do also recommend immediately performing passive ROM exercises as long as an X-ray has ruled out any fractures. I have had grade 2+ injuries that my athletes have been told by their primary physician would be a 4-6 week recovery functional in sport specific activities in 2-3 weeks using similar therapeutic modalities as Dr. Berg. But don’t be afraid of cryotherapy just use it for specific purposes and under the guidance of a specialist who understands the phases of healing musculoskeletal injuries. I love Dr. Berg’s videos. So much good info. 👍
Thank you so much for the explanation! I dislocated my kneecap on my right knee. What kind of passive ROM do you recommend in this case? There are no fractures, the knee is just swollen and it hurts a bit. A doctor, an orthopedic specialist, told me to wear a knee orthosis for 1 month.
Brilliant video! My chiropractor thinks I'm mad as I don't use ice on inflamed areas. Been saying for years that it didn't make sense. Huge relief to hear you talking about this. Thank you😁
Hi All, I was an Athletic Trainer for 25 years providing emergency medical care and orthopedic rehab for collegiate athletes. RICE was the method preached and used across the board. Toward the middle of my career, I began to change the way I worked on mild to moderate injuries. Movement was the most important variable in treatment. Compression ranked a close second because it prevented significantly increased swelling in a given area. If I could determine that an injured athlete was reasonably functional (e.g. with an ankle injury) I taped them with elastikon so there was no way to injure it further and put them to work. Elastikon was strong enough to prevent untoward movement and forgiving enough to allow for some swelling with less pain than regular white tape. Sometimes they made it back on the field on the same day. Those that didn't were still ahead of the game the following day if they followed night time instruction. (Contralateral work, BTW, was a given with those that could not achieve normal function but less helpful with those that could.) The point of ice is to prevent what I'd call "run-away inflammation", not to stop inflammation entirely. Most do not understand that healing CANNOT occur without some inflammation specific to the injured area. This is why NSAIDs do not work and merely slow the process while helping to trash the nephrons in the kidneys. (First, do no harm.) With moderate to severe (eg. a 2+ ligament sprain;) Ice would still be my go-to. Thank you for this video Dr Berg!
ZYFLAMEND amazing for any inflammation or severe inflammation like after a surgery. I can take 2 on empty stomach or 3-4 with food if hurting bad. Usually people with back pain take 3 daily spread out then two daily then one daily. My elder mechanic to this day we don't know what was wrong with his blown up severe enlarged leg but it healed fast _who knows if he had a blood clot, pre-stroke but he still doesn't give me a decent discount🙄
When I went through massage therapy school this concept of cold confused me when I saw athletes sitting in a freezing cold ice cube bath was also confusing as doing so would really shock the body. I also believe if you injure a muscle you need to massage it first to stretch it out and get the blood flowing. Because constricted muscles also constrict blood flow. I have had a few muscular injuries doing this helped me heal quicker.i absolutely agree letting a fever do its thing to kill any virus. By doing so you shorten the virus duration and suffering from long term symptoms.
That makes sense…. Butvyeah, confusing. PT uses cold heat before wxwrcise too but not chiros. As well as cold after treatment but chiros doesn’t too. Quite confusing but I dnt want to disclose whom did I follow .
I was an athlete. When we had 2 a day football practices and weight training, your body is overworked, and can get DOMS, which I had a few times, and it stopped me from moving or training until I healed. Once I discovered the ice baths, this absolutely helped recovery, and I could continue with the training. For myself, I don't use ice. I just simply lay in a tub of straight cold water, 20 minutes. A dip in a lake or river, does same. Athletes would not do this, if there was no perceived, or evidence of benefit to it.
@@ccast6290 it's a short term benefit but the abuse you put your body through is long term depending upon how many years you do this. Your body reacts to damage as the good doctor here states. They ice you up for their benefit of the game, not for your health. I have cared for athletes as well as construction workers etc. And the damage I've treated was terrible.
~Yes!!!~This was always my theory about trying to lower a fever?!~Why stop the body from killing whatever is making you sick?!?~Im sooo glad to hear you say this!!!~
Thank you Dr Berg. I listen to you in my nightime routine. I'm Aussie so I'm like 12 hours ahead lol I fell over badly. Thought I broke foot and now I have a slipped disc, back pain, leg tingling, fatigue and now lower spine osteoporosis. I was only diagnosed after a ct scan at age 38. I was very very active as a kid. Wish I saw this a year ago. I'm sure it will help many now 😀 Tomorrow I'm going to work on my core muscles for my back.
Dr Berg for your constant, steady help to all of us. And your calm voice really helps as you are "always on my ear". Just a experience: On doing gymnasium steps, i injured , riped a tendon in my ankle. It swallowed big time, couldn't touch it, forget about standing up on it, went to ER. Surgery schedule for Monday. I was freaking out. It was a friday. Found this simple wise white hair lady on youtube teaching old fashion homeopathy, did the hydrotherapy cold/hot(a bucket of pretty hot water, and another filled with ice side by side, back and forth as i could stand, seconds in each one), did like 3 to 4 times daily over weekend, by Monday i was walking on that feet. I felt like my body got powers like Wolverine. I was so excited. Tuesday i was working on my feet and at the following weekend i was back on the steps. I was so incredible to me. The old fashion simple ways of living are so much better in so many levels. We become too modern for our own misfortune.
Hi Dr Berg, just sharing my experience and awareness. For your info I’m born in South East Asia and many of us are descendants from Ancient China. We’ve never use the R.I.C.E. whenever we got a minor sprain or dislocation of our joints. We’ve quite a few authentic and genuine TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) doctors in my country. The inflammation of the joints, for instance sports injury after a bad fall from playing basketball, must be check by a qualified TCM doctor if it’s a fracture or crack of the bones or a totally torn ligament, if it’s then only a Western doctor in our country doctor can help. If it’s not a bone injury or a broken ligament, often majority of my sports injury is not, then it’s best to get treated by a qualified TCM doctor. The pain is often caused by 1) displacement of meridians and tendons 2) elongation or stretched meridians and tendons 3) meridians and tendons crossing each other paths. Yes like you’ve mentioned in the video, the qualified TCM doctor will perform some a specific sets of movement at the inflamed joints, but it’s according to specific procedures as to readjust and reposition the meridians and tendons back to the original place and location, and apply their anti-inflammatory ointment which is also their secret recipe and bandage the injured joints up and allow the body immune system to self heal. Yes and you’re correct, no cold treatment or ice cubes are used. Joints are based of accurate description of the patient of what angle he fell and injured and the joints are rotated specifically according too match that type of injury, sometimes yes you need to rotate at the specific inured joint, and sometimes the TCM doctor knows the tendons are connected to other place of the human body and rotate that place instead, like what you say in the video, rotating the opposite joints. The correct Chinese Word to translate meridians and tendons is 经络脉 or 筋络脉。 So the rule of thumb is, anything that requires surgery or operation or broken bones or ligaments, always go to a Western Doctor. And anything to do with small sprains and dislocation, always go to a TCM.
I remember this being one of your questions on your live stream. Glad you did this. Think ice is good to reduce pain in the first day or so after an injury. Recovery afterwards - I've found a wobble board was excellent for ankle injury - also helps with balance.
Wobble board, is that one of those boards with half an exercise ball on one side? I've had a torn tendon on outer side of ankle for LONG time. Walking doesn't heal it. Don't want surgery. Ice it when it bothers me.
@@ToastingMyJam360 Yes, that what I use. I sprained my ankle a few years back and found that using the wobble board helped a lot. Use it now for exercising both ankles and also for balance. Just take it steady at first - hold on to something first.
I stopped prescribing NSAIDs to my fracture pt’s years ago because a few studies have come out showing that the inflammation that occurs right after a musculoskeletal injury is actually beneficial in the early phases of healing.
I have never used cold therapy for any injuries (I abhor anything cold)...and there were so many injuries in my life I have lost a count...yet, somehow, I have always pulled through better than those using ice packs. A sprained ankle needs a compression, not cold therapy.
I had a right shoulder injury recently so can I use heat as well as mobility. I did ice in the beginning but am glad I stopped it. I exercise and do light weights to mobilize my shoulder is much better but I can take that hand all the way back, I guess it takes time.
Im a Physiotherapist, and i still stand with cryotherapy for acute injuries. And a combination of heat and ice also works well. Im against deep tissue massage as it might separate the broken tissues further leading to incomplete healing or longer heaking period.
Thank you always for what you do for us! ❤ You have been my resource above all for so many things and I trust your advice more than anyone else. I injured my ankle (pretty badly- rolled it hard as I lost footing on stairs and went down the stairs on that ankle sideways (shudder)) and though I am a 52 year old female you helped me salvage my ankle (I was walking-though not great- immediately after and since). No heat, no ice, no pain medication. I massaged my other ankle periodically though and it’s been just under a month and seems to be doing well. Much love and appreciation to you 🥰
Yes! I was always confused about this, as the body is responding to protect and heal itself and we apply ice to counter the body's natural processes....
Hi everyone and good morning Dr. Berg. I got tennis elbow from construction. It's been 2 months now. The pain is less but it's still there. I hope it goes away soon. Also can we all thank Dr. Berg for putting videos every single day. It's not easy and it's time consuming .
Agree, Dr. Mirkin, who started the RICE protocol in the 60's, says it was not based on science but rather his educated guess. He now says the science supports what you say
As a massage therapist/bodyworker, I have told my clients to not do RICE but do MEAT - Movement, Exercise, Analgesics and Treatment. You covered them all! THANK YOU!!! LOVE YOUR CHANNEL!
Where I am glad you have come back and corrected your previous statements, I wish you would have given the credit to the sources that I cited to you. You have a very large audience, they deserve the resource for further study. I gave one to you, you should have passed it on.
Manual therapy sounds a lot like Injury Recall. I had a RMT do injury recall on me and it really was shocking how one session solved an reoccurring symptom. I wish more people knew about this, both doctors and therapists and patients.
@@HiKasandra It's a technique an amazing RMT introduced me to. I honestly don't know much about it, other than some small nagging injuries were healed in one session. Try contacting your provincial/state RMT, Chiro or Kinesiologist association as they may have a list of practitioners that specialize in it. I wish you the very best in healing!
I was a massage therapist for years. I agree that treating the opposite area works. When my clients came to me with low back pain, I treated the front, the psoas, in particular, to solve the problem. Worked like a charm.
Truly interesting. I've lived in Bolivia most of my life (am Norwegian), and many years ago a friend told about this advice she'd gotten from some nuns who treated people using herbs and clay cataplasms. She had a bad knee; they told her to massage her other knee. And it worked. I'd almost forgotten about this.
This information about R.I.C.E. is true. Dr. Gabe Mirkin, and orthopedic doctor and marathon runner came up with the protocol in the 1970s, I believe. However, several years ago, he redacted it completely. Massaging a sprain often, as much pain as you can handle, is also very helpful along with light stretching and Range Of Motion movements. I healed a soft ball size ankle sprain in a week and was running again.
I’M MORE INTELLIGENT THAN I THOUGHT! I DO EVERYTHING YOU MENTIONED, minus the IR. I stay away from pain medication‘s. Even when I was a little kid, my mom told me that I didn’t even want to take an aspirin. I never smoked, never got hammered, never did any drugs, always involved in sports and activities. I guess I was just blessed with a natural instinct to not do the wrong thing. Of course, it helps that my pain threshold is very high. Even when I have a fever, I wrap up in the blanket and sweat profusely to the point that I have to change my sheets twice a night.
My understanding is that the use of ice initially is to stop the bleeding from torn capillaries, which will leak blood into the injured tissues and cause more bruising and swelling. Compression and elevation help as well, but cold induces vasoconstriction and is the most effective way to stop the bleeding. If it's just capillaries then a few minutes ought to be enough, and once the bleeding has stopped you stop using the ice and move on to other parts of the protocol.
Aloe vera gel is distinguished by its containing vitamins, minerals and enzymes that moisturize and nourish the skin, so it is used in the treatment of many skin and skin problems, including bruises and injuries.
@@marianapopescu753 Never know, until you try it. A cold 20 minute tub bath, has reduced my inflammation for most of the day. I was ruled out having rheumatoid arthritis, I have long haul covid with different antibodies. RA does, however, run in most of my family members.
Say you injure your thumb. Your thumb normally will be running at a voltage of -25mv. It feels fine and works. Now if i hit it with a hammer, it will turn red, swell and be hot. It automatically will go to -50mV. This is necessary to make new cells needed to replace the ones damaged. At -50mV, blood vessels dilate and dump raw materials such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, etc into the area. You need those raw materials to build new cells. You also need -50mV to have the energy to turn these raw material into new cells. When you've made enough new cells, the thumb goes back to -25mV, and its normal. This is what i learned from Dr. Jerry Tennant. So it makes sense what Dr. Berg says, dont ice it, which will constrict the vessels, stopping raw materials from entering the thumb to heal.
My one PE teacher told us that cooling an injury can be damaging, because your just numbing the pain which can lead to more damages, because you're not able to listen to the signals of your body afterwards. I was quite impressed when he told us this. His example was an ankle injury and it's logical when you think about it. He even got quite angry when he talked about those cooling sprays some people use.
Good to hear the acknowledgment of opposite side focus which reduces pain immediately, I’ve been doing it for years. The RICE protocol is a shocker though.
My late father was a maxillofacial surgeon and he said to not put ice on it. Instead, he advised to just put something cool on the injury, and only for a short while. Anyway, Thanks for the advise, sir. Next time i have an issue i’ll try your method.
Going to have to disagree on this one. Cryotherapy causes a vasoconstriction with burst of vasodilation which brings new blood to the area and pumps older blood out, as such speeding healing.
Chronic inflammation isn’t good for your health. But, inflammation in an acute state is also a fundamental part of healing, and you don’t want to do anything to stop the healing process. The best things to do for an acute injury: 1. Depending on the injury and severity, you would want to use passive range of motion or active range of motion for that part of the body. 2. Try infrared light therapy to increase recovery and decrease pain. 3. Use manual therapy on the opposite side of your body from where you were injured. 4. Get plenty of vitamin D to support your immune system and for inflammation and pain. Thank you Dr Berg!!
True. Slip on a wrench then keep working to promote minimal injury (bruise, swelling, minor bleeding), reduced to a skin healing cycle. Slip on wrench and stop working and swelling, pain, long time to heal.
My husband has a shoulder that’s always bothering him. Literally he can barely use it. They told him to use ice.. I’ve been doing ultrasound on it with bio freeze. Nothing is helping. I told him it’s the bed. The way he is sleeping, but he’s hard headed. Can you do a video on men listening to their wives?? Lol 😂
.....I had a similar thing happen recently, and it was because of something that occured when I was sleeping, with how I had slept. I coukd barely use it ,for days, it's now better, but it was one week of it gradually getting better. You have to sleep on your back, propped up ,basically sitting up sleeping for a few days, two or three. I used a timed heating pad to fall asleep, which helps tremendously. ( on very low setting) . I only iced it a few times, mostly a very warm compress and by day 4, I started using " Icy Hot " cream on it, but only at night, and took Advil PM to help sleeping. This helped so much, and I researched that sleeping a certain way, on the shoulder that hurts ,will help it. Sounds counterintuitive, I know. But it worked. You have to place a long lumbar pillow butted up against your sleeping pillow, with another pillow placed semi - upright behind those other 2 pillows. It took me a little bit to find a comfortable position, but it works. If you try to lay on the opposite side of the shoulder that's injured all it's going to do is pull on that and it's going to make it worse you have to sleep on the side of the shoulder that is giving you trouble, I swear ...I'm not kidding you.... you can research it. Lol. I'm good now, after a week of that, I'd not ever had that happen to me EVER! I hope this helps .
This is called cold shoulder.uncovered at night possibly bed against the wall and bedroom door causing a draughty scenario were cold air comes up against wall.Change is needed.This can cure easily.
Application of ice is not to reduce it but to regulate it so that Inflammation does not goes overboard and itself become an impediment to healing for eg. Excess swelling and fluid retention. Moreover on removing ice application the Secondary reaction draws a higher amount of blood and fluid at the affected area .
Totally agree with that! If i have a client who has a lower back pain if i work on his tummy totally eliminate pain .. I always dont use cold compress for sprain by the time it happened. I make sure it doesnt get wet, put oil on it and massage it gently to prevent swelling.. I dont let water to get in that area to shorten recovery
4 mg of Boron, 400 mg of Magnesium, 125 mcg (5,000 IU) D3 and 1,000 mcg K2 supplement per day for normal daily use for health people, but for illnesses and the pharmaceutical dosages you should double and triple the amounts, in general.
In Chinese culture, when there is bruise or sprained, we apply 'medicinal wine' onto the affected area. The 'wine' is to enhance blood circulation which helps reduce inflammation and thus a speedy recovery. Cold therapy is literally the opposite. It helps numb the pain though, but not the healing.
Absolutelty use ice in the first days of an acute injury. It may delay healing later on if used on post-acute but it may also reduce the over response of inflammatory agents at first. This crucial part may in fact help speed recovery.
Soak injuries in Comfrey tea. It does absolute wonders to reduce swelling and shorten recovery time. Works great for burns also. Recently the wind blew shut my semi truck door on left fingers. They were a mess but, being alone and still had an hour to go before my shift was over, I had to tough it out until I got home. I made some Comfrey tea, put it in a plastic bag and taped it securely around my entire hand and within 15-20 minutes, the pain began to subside and was able to finally get to sleep. When I woke up in the morning, the swelling was down, finger nails were no longer bruised dark, they were more of a light bruised color. I continued soaking my fingers for the next 2 days off & on throughout the day. I was sure I would lose my fingernails but, I never did. They healed up.
When I broke my arm, everyone said to ice my arm the first few days to prevent swelling. I told them no and that swelling is good in the beginning because they body is sending all the action to the arm to fix it. The nurses looked at me like I’m dumb or crazy
Your older videos have better audio and video for some reason. Please consider checking the quality of them since I always have to increase the volume every time I watch one of your videos from this year.
Ice saved me from foot pain. Suffered from bad plantar fasciitis for 9 months. Searched youtube for help. Everyone said stretch and use inserts in your shoes. My GP doc said thensame thing. No one mentioned icing it. Iced it everynight about 20min for 3 days and gone! I was able to walk without pain again. I couldnt beleive I was going through that for so long and there was a simple cure for me.
For years and years, I had hay fever and itchy eyes were nonstop. So I rubbed them a lot and they would swell up. So my myth buster was do not put icy wash cloth on your eyes, it swelled them up even more. So I used a warm washcloth one day and WOW, the swelling went down
I have a discovery to share.....I am always quite busy and move around quickly and always injury myself because I am a bit of klutz. One day when I cut myself, I ran to the bathroom sink to turn the cold water on to stop the bleeding but the water was very warm because it had just been running warm....To my amazement, the pain I was in from the cut disappeared in 5 seconds from the very warm water so I thought I was on to something...Since then whenever I have an acute injury, I run very warn water on it, even for up for 1 minute or 2 minutes - until the pain goes way. It is amazing and usually heals whatever acute injury I have and leaves no bruising or pain the next day. Give it a try. It's all about adding as much warmth as you can take to an injury.
I was told by my physio when i did my acl, no ice, compression or anti-inflammatory drugs for all the reasons you described. Additionally it can lead to more scar tissue.
One of the first video's I feel is a little misleading, and I have watched every single one, Ice is just temporary 10 minutes drives the old macrophages and waste product from the area temporarily and the heart sends back fresh oxygenated blood with nutrition so 10 minutes of ice is beneficial. Motion after a day or two rest, injured ligaments due need to heal and if you in the first 24-48 hours introduce activity creates more scar tissue. I think this advice should be reconsidered.
Some doctor said that Vit D should not be taken during bed time because it will compete melatonin. In your some video you've mentioned that it should be taken during bed time.
Can we all appreciate that he uploads consistently? 💕
Facts
hmmmmm
Yes !
Bruh if you spam the comments... i swear
Can you talk about peptide
Oh thank you! I hate using cold on injuries. I refuse to do it. Now I know my instinct was right.
Where I failed is in resting too much. Especially now that I am old!
It never felt right to use ice. I haven't had an acute injury since grade school though. School nurses love using ice packs.
Sometimes rest is good though. To refresh. Our bodies take a lot of abuse and I think that if I feel the need to rest then I will try. Like a reset. Our bodies communicate with our brain and soul, and spirit every day. We just need to follow our intuitions. Stay healthy.
@@wardrobelion 😍what kind words! Thank you!
Walk every day. Friend of ours is 95 and he walks 3 miles every day (except in really bad weather) but he swears it keeps you fit and healthy.
Dr. Berg, I just love your early morning videos. You are as constant as the sunrise.
Stay strong, healthy & safe forever! We need your positive input each day.
Thank you, Dr. Berg!
I’ve learned more helpful info from Dr.Berg in the last 2 years than I did in my 30 years as a registered nurse working in a hospital.
The one thing I love about Dr Berg is the fact that he lays out the issues, explains what it is/what happens, and lays out the best method of treatment! Thank you!💞
I’m a PT student right now and this is 100% true. My teachers do tell us to ice especially if we are going to be doing subsequent therapy exercise, but ice should not be the main modality to heal an injury with inflammation. Motion is lotion with any injury unless stated otherwise by your surgeon/physician. Love this video
One day after any injury ,I apply heat to increase blood flow to the area. And I keep moving that body part. Usually works for me.
*PERFECT TIMING!!!* Just strained ( hyperflexion ) the toes of my right foot and it was initially doing better _while using it_ . After a day of immobilization, ice, elevation and rest, and due to this video.... I am walking gently and moving them. For my entire life, I was taught WRONG AMA nonsense. Has the AMA ever been correct ???
As a head athletic trainer for the past two decades all I treat is musculoskeletal injuries. I can say with certainty that cryotherapy is a useful modality for the first 24-48 hours after the initial acute injury simply for controlling the muscle spasm pain cycle during that time and no more. Especially if you don’t have access to or don’t want to incorporate pharmaceutical modalities (i.e minors, those with known contraindications etc) If someone comes into my training room on a Monday after they injured themselves on a Friday it is already to late to use a cryotherapy modality. Also any modality you choose be it a cryotherapy, thermotherapy, mechanical, pharmaceutical or electrical is no where near as effective until you begin to combine two or more as a form of treatment. I do also recommend immediately performing passive ROM exercises as long as an X-ray has ruled out any fractures. I have had grade 2+ injuries that my athletes have been told by their primary physician would be a 4-6 week recovery functional in sport specific activities in 2-3 weeks using similar therapeutic modalities as Dr. Berg. But don’t be afraid of cryotherapy just use it for specific purposes and under the guidance of a specialist who understands the phases of healing musculoskeletal injuries. I love Dr. Berg’s videos. So much good info. 👍
Thank you so much for the explanation!
I dislocated my kneecap on my right knee. What kind of passive ROM do you recommend in this case? There are no fractures, the knee is just swollen and it hurts a bit. A doctor, an orthopedic specialist, told me to wear a knee orthosis for 1 month.
Brilliant video! My chiropractor thinks I'm mad as I don't use ice on inflamed areas. Been saying for years that it didn't make sense. Huge relief to hear you talking about this. Thank you😁
Hi All,
I was an Athletic Trainer for 25 years providing emergency medical care and orthopedic rehab for collegiate athletes. RICE was the method preached and used across the board. Toward the middle of my career, I began to change the way I worked on mild to moderate injuries. Movement was the most important variable in treatment. Compression ranked a close second because it prevented significantly increased swelling in a given area.
If I could determine that an injured athlete was reasonably functional (e.g. with an ankle injury) I taped them with elastikon so there was no way to injure it further and put them to work. Elastikon was strong enough to prevent untoward movement and forgiving enough to allow for some swelling with less pain than regular white tape. Sometimes they made it back on the field on the same day. Those that didn't were still ahead of the game the following day if they followed night time instruction. (Contralateral work, BTW, was a given with those that could not achieve normal function but less helpful with those that could.)
The point of ice is to prevent what I'd call "run-away inflammation", not to stop inflammation entirely. Most do not understand that healing CANNOT occur without some inflammation specific to the injured area. This is why NSAIDs do not work and merely slow the process while helping to trash the nephrons in the kidneys. (First, do no harm.)
With moderate to severe (eg. a 2+ ligament sprain;) Ice would still be my go-to.
Thank you for this video Dr Berg!
Glad you found the truth Dale.
ZYFLAMEND amazing for any inflammation or severe inflammation like after a surgery. I can take 2 on empty stomach or 3-4 with food if hurting bad. Usually people with back pain take 3 daily spread out then two daily then one daily. My elder mechanic to this day we don't know what was wrong with his blown up severe enlarged leg but it healed fast _who knows if he had a blood clot, pre-stroke but he still doesn't give me a decent discount🙄
When I went through massage therapy school this concept of cold confused me when I saw athletes sitting in a freezing cold ice cube bath was also confusing as doing so would really shock the body. I also believe if you injure a muscle you need to massage it first to stretch it out and get the blood flowing. Because constricted muscles also constrict blood flow. I have had a few muscular injuries doing this helped me heal quicker.i absolutely agree letting a fever do its thing to kill any virus. By doing so you shorten the virus duration and suffering from long term symptoms.
That makes sense…. Butvyeah, confusing.
PT uses cold heat before wxwrcise too but not chiros. As well as cold after treatment but chiros doesn’t too.
Quite confusing but I dnt want to disclose whom did I follow .
The ice water therapy was for the Pineal Gland.
I was an athlete. When we had 2 a day football practices and weight training, your body is overworked, and can get DOMS, which I had a few times, and it stopped me from moving or training until I healed. Once I discovered the ice baths, this absolutely helped recovery, and I could continue with the training. For myself, I don't use ice. I just simply lay in a tub of straight cold water, 20 minutes. A dip in a lake or river, does same. Athletes would not do this, if there was no perceived, or evidence of benefit to it.
@@zl5393 lol
@@ccast6290 it's a short term benefit but the abuse you put your body through is long term depending upon how many years you do this. Your body reacts to damage as the good doctor here states. They ice you up for their benefit of the game, not for your health. I have cared for athletes as well as construction workers etc. And the damage I've treated was terrible.
~Yes!!!~This was always my theory about trying to lower a fever?!~Why stop the body from killing whatever is making you sick?!?~Im sooo glad to hear you say this!!!~
Thank you Dr Berg. I listen to you in my nightime routine. I'm Aussie so I'm like 12 hours ahead lol I fell over badly. Thought I broke foot and now I have a slipped disc, back pain, leg tingling, fatigue and now lower spine osteoporosis. I was only diagnosed after a ct scan at age 38. I was very very active as a kid.
Wish I saw this a year ago. I'm sure it will help many now 😀 Tomorrow I'm going to work on my core muscles for my back.
healing vibes¹⁰⁰⁰
Dr Berg for your constant, steady help to all of us. And your calm voice really helps as you are "always on my ear". Just a experience: On doing gymnasium steps, i injured , riped a tendon in my ankle. It swallowed big time, couldn't touch it, forget about standing up on it, went to ER. Surgery schedule for Monday. I was freaking out. It was a friday. Found this simple wise white hair lady on youtube teaching old fashion homeopathy, did the hydrotherapy cold/hot(a bucket of pretty hot water, and another filled with ice side by side, back and forth as i could stand, seconds in each one), did like 3 to 4 times daily over weekend, by Monday i was walking on that feet. I felt like my body got powers like Wolverine. I was so excited. Tuesday i was working on my feet and at the following weekend i was back on the steps. I was so incredible to me. The old fashion simple ways of living are so much better in so many levels. We become too modern for our own misfortune.
Dr. Eric, I very much respect and appreciate your openness to search for and find truth even if it goes against the grain. Thank you!
Great advice. Excellent explanation. Thank you Dr Berg for all this free information - a true service to humanity.
Hi Dr Berg, just sharing my experience and awareness. For your info I’m born in South East Asia and many of us are descendants from Ancient China. We’ve never use the R.I.C.E. whenever we got a minor sprain or dislocation of our joints. We’ve quite a few authentic and genuine TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) doctors in my country.
The inflammation of the joints, for instance sports injury after a bad fall from playing basketball, must be check by a qualified TCM doctor if it’s a fracture or crack of the bones or a totally torn ligament, if it’s then only a Western doctor in our country doctor can help.
If it’s not a bone injury or a broken ligament, often majority of my sports injury is not, then it’s best to get treated by a qualified TCM doctor.
The pain is often caused by
1) displacement of meridians and tendons
2) elongation or stretched meridians and tendons
3) meridians and tendons crossing each other paths.
Yes like you’ve mentioned in the video, the qualified TCM doctor will perform some a specific sets of movement at the inflamed joints, but it’s according to specific procedures as to readjust and reposition the meridians and tendons back to the original place and location, and apply their anti-inflammatory ointment which is also their secret recipe and bandage the injured joints up and allow the body immune system to self heal. Yes and you’re correct, no cold treatment or ice cubes are used. Joints are based of accurate description of the patient of what angle he fell and injured and the joints are rotated specifically according too match that type of injury, sometimes yes you need to rotate at the specific inured joint, and sometimes the TCM doctor knows the tendons are connected to other place of the human body and rotate that place instead, like what you say in the video, rotating the opposite joints.
The correct Chinese Word to translate meridians and tendons is 经络脉 or 筋络脉。
So the rule of thumb is, anything that requires surgery or operation or broken bones or ligaments, always go to a Western Doctor. And anything to do with small sprains and dislocation, always go to a TCM.
Excellent information!I always thought that cold was not a good therapy, and now I have confirmed it.
I remember this being one of your questions on your live stream. Glad you did this. Think ice is good to reduce pain in the first day or so after an injury. Recovery afterwards - I've found a wobble board was excellent for ankle injury - also helps with balance.
Wobble board, is that one of those boards with half an exercise ball on one side?
I've had a torn tendon on outer side of ankle for LONG time. Walking doesn't heal it. Don't want surgery. Ice it when it bothers me.
@@ToastingMyJam360 Yes, that what I use. I sprained my ankle a few years back and found that using the wobble board helped a lot. Use it now for exercising both ankles and also for balance. Just take it steady at first - hold on to something first.
I stopped prescribing NSAIDs to my fracture pt’s years ago because a few studies have come out showing that the inflammation that occurs right after a musculoskeletal injury is actually beneficial in the early phases of healing.
This is beautiful, exactly what I think, thanks mate, and of course D3 with K2, Magnesium and Boron .
I have never used cold therapy for any injuries (I abhor anything cold)...and there were so many injuries in my life I have lost a count...yet, somehow, I have always pulled through better than those using ice packs. A sprained ankle needs a compression, not cold therapy.
I had a right shoulder injury recently so can I use heat as well as mobility. I did ice in the beginning but am glad I stopped it. I exercise and do light weights to mobilize my shoulder is much better but I can take that hand all the way back, I guess it takes time.
Im a Physiotherapist, and i still stand with cryotherapy for acute injuries. And a combination of heat and ice also works well. Im against deep tissue massage as it might separate the broken tissues further leading to incomplete healing or longer heaking period.
Thank you always for what you do for us! ❤ You have been my resource above all for so many things and I trust your advice more than anyone else. I injured my ankle (pretty badly- rolled it hard as I lost footing on stairs and went down the stairs on that ankle sideways (shudder)) and though I am a 52 year old female you helped me salvage my ankle (I was walking-though not great- immediately after and since). No heat, no ice, no pain medication. I massaged my other ankle periodically though and it’s been just under a month and seems to be doing well. Much love and appreciation to you 🥰
Yes! I was always confused about this, as the body is responding to protect and heal itself and we apply ice to counter the body's natural processes....
Thanks as always for all the info Dr Berg 😊
From pakistan.listen ur lectures because our doctor khalid Jamil relates ur studies in his lecture.very well done
I love I love people going against everyone, especially when they are right.
Hi everyone and good morning Dr. Berg. I got tennis elbow from construction. It's been 2 months now. The pain is less but it's still there. I hope it goes away soon. Also can we all thank Dr. Berg for putting videos every single day. It's not easy and it's time consuming .
Agree, Dr. Mirkin, who started the RICE protocol in the 60's, says it was not based on science but rather his educated guess. He now says the science supports what you say
As a massage therapist/bodyworker, I have told my clients to not do RICE but do MEAT - Movement, Exercise, Analgesics and Treatment. You covered them all! THANK YOU!!! LOVE YOUR CHANNEL!
Hello! I'm happy to know that you found the post useful. Thanks for watching.
Brilliant analysis. This is the new thinking and belief system that will elevate healing to a new level . Thank you Dr Berg 👏👏👏👏👏
Where I am glad you have come back and corrected your previous statements, I wish you would have given the credit to the sources that I cited to you. You have a very large audience, they deserve the resource for further study. I gave one to you, you should have passed it on.
Manual therapy sounds a lot like Injury Recall. I had a RMT do injury recall on me and it really was shocking how one session solved an reoccurring symptom. I wish more people knew about this, both doctors and therapists and patients.
Hi Pirhan, what's injury recall? Also have had a recurring injury sadly.
@@HiKasandra It's a technique an amazing RMT introduced me to. I honestly don't know much about it, other than some small nagging injuries were healed in one session. Try contacting your provincial/state RMT, Chiro or Kinesiologist association as they may have a list of practitioners that specialize in it. I wish you the very best in healing!
Wow! You are brilliant! Thank you for sharing life changing information daily!
Excellent information as always Doctor.
Much thanks.
I was a massage therapist for years. I agree that treating the opposite area works. When my clients came to me with low back pain, I treated the front, the psoas, in particular, to solve the problem. Worked like a charm.
Truly interesting. I've lived in Bolivia most of my life (am Norwegian), and many years ago a friend told about this advice she'd gotten from some nuns who treated people using herbs and clay cataplasms. She had a bad knee; they told her to massage her other knee. And it worked.
I'd almost forgotten about this.
@@camelsheit_on_the_walls446 damn!! That is crazy. Never heard about that 😳
So actually, “walk it off” wasn’t horrible advice after all!
This information about R.I.C.E. is true. Dr. Gabe Mirkin, and orthopedic doctor and marathon runner came up with the protocol in the 1970s, I believe. However, several years ago, he redacted it completely. Massaging a sprain often, as much pain as you can handle, is also very helpful along with light stretching and Range Of Motion movements. I healed a soft ball size ankle sprain in a week and was running again.
I’M MORE INTELLIGENT THAN I THOUGHT! I DO EVERYTHING YOU MENTIONED, minus the IR. I stay away from pain medication‘s. Even when I was a little kid, my mom told me that I didn’t even want to take an aspirin. I never smoked, never got hammered, never did any drugs, always involved in sports and activities. I guess I was just blessed with a natural instinct to not do the wrong thing. Of course, it helps that my pain threshold is very high. Even when I have a fever, I wrap up in the blanket and sweat profusely to the point that I have to change my sheets twice a night.
I think we are going to find out that a lot of what we have been taught to do in school to manage our health has been an out right lie!!
Not so much a lie but incorrect.
Not lie.. they were thought to be true earlier.. just they need to keep updating the text books with respect to current knowledge .
Especially pharmaceuticals
My understanding is that the use of ice initially is to stop the bleeding from torn capillaries, which will leak blood into the injured tissues and cause more bruising and swelling. Compression and elevation help as well, but cold induces vasoconstriction and is the most effective way to stop the bleeding. If it's just capillaries then a few minutes ought to be enough, and once the bleeding has stopped you stop using the ice and move on to other parts of the protocol.
Aloe vera gel is distinguished by its containing vitamins, minerals and enzymes that moisturize and nourish the skin, so it is used in the treatment of many skin and skin problems, including bruises and injuries.
This is so useful. Strangely sprained my ankle again with a fall. The street lights were dim and I tripped. Will try out your tips! ~~
I tell people this all the time when they tell me "You should put ice on it". Glad I have a video now to share.
We really appreciate your thoughtful videos Dr Berg !! they are priceless and life savers ! what you doing is really helping us.
A cold morning shower is way better than morning coffee, it wakes you up. Are you guys able to consistently take a cold shower every morning?
When have reumathoid arthritis a cold shower its not a good ideea ,l think...or Is It??
@@marianapopescu753 Never know, until you try it. A cold 20 minute tub bath, has reduced my inflammation for most of the day. I was ruled out having rheumatoid arthritis, I have long haul covid with different antibodies. RA does, however, run in most of my family members.
Say you injure your thumb. Your thumb normally will be running at a voltage of -25mv. It feels fine and works. Now if i hit it with a hammer, it will turn red, swell and be hot. It automatically will go to -50mV. This is necessary to make new cells needed to replace the ones damaged. At -50mV, blood vessels dilate and dump raw materials such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, etc into the area. You need those raw materials to build new cells. You also need -50mV to have the energy to turn these raw material into new cells. When you've made enough new cells, the thumb goes back to -25mV, and its normal.
This is what i learned from Dr. Jerry Tennant. So it makes sense what Dr. Berg says, dont ice it, which will constrict the vessels, stopping raw materials from entering the thumb to heal.
My one PE teacher told us that cooling an injury can be damaging, because your just numbing the pain which can lead to more damages, because you're not able to listen to the signals of your body afterwards. I was quite impressed when he told us this.
His example was an ankle injury and it's logical when you think about it.
He even got quite angry when he talked about those cooling sprays some people use.
Thank you so much for having my back. It never made sense to me nor felt natural.
Good to hear the acknowledgment of opposite side focus which reduces pain immediately, I’ve been doing it for years. The RICE protocol is a shocker though.
My late father was a maxillofacial surgeon and he said to not put ice on it.
Instead, he advised to just put something cool on the injury, and only for a short while.
Anyway,
Thanks for the advise, sir.
Next time i have an issue i’ll try your method.
Very interesting and informative. Clears up a lot of misconceptions. Thank you for all your videos.
Going to have to disagree on this one. Cryotherapy causes a vasoconstriction with burst of vasodilation which brings new blood to the area and pumps older blood out, as such speeding healing.
Exactly what my orthopedic surgeon told me after knee replacement surgery.
Chronic inflammation isn’t good for your health. But, inflammation in an acute state is also a fundamental part of healing, and you don’t want to do anything to stop the healing process.
The best things to do for an acute injury:
1. Depending on the injury and severity, you would want to use passive range of motion or active range of motion for that part of the body.
2. Try infrared light therapy to increase recovery and decrease pain.
3. Use manual therapy on the opposite side of your body from where you were injured.
4. Get plenty of vitamin D to support your immune system and for inflammation and pain.
Thank you Dr Berg!!
True. Slip on a wrench then keep working to promote minimal injury (bruise, swelling, minor bleeding), reduced to a skin healing cycle. Slip on wrench and stop working and swelling, pain, long time to heal.
Very timely! Thank you!!
My husband has a shoulder that’s always bothering him. Literally he can barely use it. They told him to use ice.. I’ve been doing ultrasound on it with bio freeze. Nothing is helping. I told him it’s the bed. The way he is sleeping, but he’s hard headed. Can you do a video on men listening to their wives?? Lol 😂
What ?
@@bentotc5097 you heard me 🤣
.....I had a similar thing happen recently, and it was because of something that occured when I was sleeping, with how I had slept.
I coukd barely use it ,for days, it's now better, but it was one week of it gradually getting better. You have to sleep on your back, propped up ,basically sitting up sleeping for a few days, two or three. I used a timed heating pad to fall asleep, which helps tremendously. ( on very low setting) .
I only iced it a few times, mostly a very warm compress and by day 4, I started using " Icy Hot " cream on it, but only at night, and took Advil PM to help sleeping. This helped so much, and I researched that sleeping a certain way, on the shoulder that hurts ,will help it. Sounds counterintuitive, I know. But it worked. You have to place a long lumbar pillow butted up against your sleeping pillow, with another pillow placed semi - upright behind those other 2 pillows. It took me a little bit to find a comfortable position, but it works. If you try to lay on the opposite side of the shoulder that's injured all it's going to do is pull on that and it's going to make it worse you have to sleep on the side of the shoulder that is giving you trouble, I swear ...I'm not kidding you.... you can research it. Lol. I'm good now, after a week of that, I'd not ever had that happen to me EVER! I hope this helps .
🤣🤣🤣
This is called cold shoulder.uncovered at night possibly bed against the wall and bedroom door causing a draughty scenario were cold air comes up against wall.Change is needed.This can cure easily.
Having seen a lot of injuries
Hematomas
It helps to reduce blood flow to help clotting commence.
Especially scalp bleeds
Application of ice is not to reduce it but to regulate it so that Inflammation does not goes overboard and itself become an impediment to healing for eg. Excess swelling and fluid retention. Moreover on removing ice application the Secondary reaction draws a higher amount of blood and fluid at the affected area .
For a bad headache ice is a blessing for me . When I get a burn , cold water gives me instant relief .
It’s good to know what ice is not good for .
I used ice and ice water over a large 2nd and 3rd degree burn and it saved my leg...
Strong iced coffee for headache..👍
@@janeteddddd I will try that in the future .
The key to using ice is applying it for over 20 minutes. Body adapts by increasing blood flow to the area.
Dr. Berg, you're amazing! Three days ago I sprained the ankle on my left leg. And today you upload this video.
Informative and helpful!
Doc, aren't the symptoms of any infection, injury or illness part of the bodies immune/repair response?
Totally agree with that! If i have a client who has a lower back pain if i work on his tummy totally eliminate pain .. I always dont use cold compress for sprain by the time it happened. I make sure it doesnt get wet, put oil on it and massage it gently to prevent swelling.. I dont let water to get in that area to shorten recovery
Everything I ever iced healed & ice reduced pain in the process. I never rest. Perpetual motion heals.
Healing takes time & patience.
what a fantastic eye opening talk. thank you
i think you are amazing..i recently discovered ''haters'' of you on RUclips i think they should leave you be. you help a lot of people.
4 mg of Boron, 400 mg of Magnesium, 125 mcg (5,000 IU) D3 and 1,000 mcg K2 supplement per day for normal daily use for health people, but for illnesses and the pharmaceutical dosages you should double and triple the amounts, in general.
Ooh I am the first like and comment 🥰 love your videos. Thank you. Your theory on ice is spot on 👌
In Chinese culture, when there is bruise or sprained, we apply 'medicinal wine' onto the affected area. The 'wine' is to enhance blood circulation which helps reduce inflammation and thus a speedy recovery. Cold therapy is literally the opposite. It helps numb the pain though, but not the healing.
Absolutelty use ice in the first days of an acute injury.
It may delay healing later on if used on post-acute but it may also reduce the over response of inflammatory agents at first. This crucial part may in fact help speed recovery.
Soak injuries in Comfrey tea. It does absolute wonders to reduce swelling and shorten recovery time. Works great for burns also. Recently the wind blew shut my semi truck door on left fingers. They were a mess but, being alone and still had an hour to go before my shift was over, I had to tough it out until I got home. I made some Comfrey tea, put it in a plastic bag and taped it securely around my entire hand and within 15-20 minutes, the pain began to subside and was able to finally get to sleep. When I woke up in the morning, the swelling was down, finger nails were no longer bruised dark, they were more of a light bruised color. I continued soaking my fingers for the next 2 days off & on throughout the day. I was sure I would lose my fingernails but, I never did. They healed up.
When I broke my arm, everyone said to ice my arm the first few days to prevent swelling. I told them no and that swelling is good in the beginning because they body is sending all the action to the arm to fix it. The nurses looked at me like I’m dumb or crazy
Your older videos have better audio and video for some reason. Please consider checking the quality of them since I always have to increase the volume every time I watch one of your videos from this year.
Thank you Doctor I just hurt my back and put ice on it and was taking it easy and relaxing!
Dr. Eric sir please tell me which food good for neuron in our body. My father suffer from nerve problem in abdomen. 🙏
Thank you for all the important information. 😊 ❤
Well I have my infrared device so good to know!
This is pure gold! Thank you, Dr. Berg!
It’s amazing how modern allopathic medicine treats symptoms and not causes. A naturopathic practitioner told me this fact 45 years ago.
As someone who played rugby and was under guidance of physiotherapists had no idea at least now I can guide my children who also play sports
Plz sir guide about planter fasciitis n its cure...thnx
It’s almost like you know what I’m going through. Thank you!
You're very welcome!
Ice saved me from foot pain. Suffered from bad plantar fasciitis for 9 months. Searched youtube for help. Everyone said stretch and use inserts in your shoes. My GP doc said thensame thing. No one mentioned icing it. Iced it everynight about 20min for 3 days and gone! I was able to walk without pain again. I couldnt beleive I was going through that for so long and there was a simple cure for me.
Hello Doctor Berg! Can you please tackle tremors and how to get rid of it naturally. Thanks for all the hard work you do just to educate us❤️❤️❤️
Hello. Please see the videos here: ruclips.net/user/DrEricBergDCsearch?query=tremors
-Dr. Berg's Support Team
For years and years, I had hay fever and itchy eyes were nonstop. So I rubbed them a lot and they would swell up. So my myth buster was do not put icy wash cloth on your eyes, it swelled them up even more. So I used a warm washcloth one day and WOW, the swelling went down
I have a discovery to share.....I am always quite busy and move around quickly and always injury myself because I am a bit of klutz. One day when I cut myself, I ran to the bathroom sink to turn the cold water on to stop the bleeding but the water was very warm because it had just been running warm....To my amazement, the pain I was in from the cut disappeared in 5 seconds from the very warm water so I thought I was on to something...Since then whenever I have an acute injury, I run very warn water on it, even for up for 1 minute or 2 minutes - until the pain goes way. It is amazing and usually heals whatever acute injury I have and leaves no bruising or pain the next day. Give it a try. It's all about adding as much warmth as you can take to an injury.
Wow timely! Thanks so much I injured my shoulder yesterday and was not sure if to still exercise and if I should use hot or cold pads
Most welcome! Glad you found it useful!
Dr. Berg is a legend!!!
Dr. Oz's professor told him that once you finish practicing medicine you will realise that 60% of what you learned in med school was wrong.
I was told by my physio when i did my acl, no ice, compression or anti-inflammatory drugs for all the reasons you described. Additionally it can lead to more scar tissue.
One of the first video's I feel is a little misleading, and I have watched every single one, Ice is just temporary 10 minutes drives the old macrophages and waste product from the area temporarily and the heart sends back fresh oxygenated blood with nutrition so 10 minutes of ice is beneficial. Motion after a day or two rest, injured ligaments due need to heal and if you in the first 24-48 hours introduce activity creates more scar tissue. I think this advice should be reconsidered.
I personally use light massage with thai balm up to three times per day in thouse cases. It usually help very well.
Earthing is my go to post injury.
Some doctor said that Vit D should not be taken during bed time because it will compete melatonin. In your some video you've mentioned that it should be taken during bed time.
Exactly. I have wondered about this. Thanks.
Ice did not help at all on my aching arm but striking lightly on the arm all over to the fingertips, over and over, helped.