SubscribeA great thing about writing for Alameda Runners is the ability to share and receive information from fellow runners. I enjoy stumbling across running-related articles — it gives me a great chance to learn — while also sharing the information found.
The following paragraphs come from “The Technical Benefits of Icing”, which was written by Kathy Weber, M.D., M.S. (Director of Primary Care Sports Medicine and Women’s Sports Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL)
Compression is often used in conjunction with cryotherapy. Benefits of compression include improved contact between the skin and the cold source, greater reduction of blood flow to the region, and an increased insulation effect, which may further reduce tissue temperatures. Compression also assists with control of edema formation that may arise after injury or secondary to microtrauma sustained during a hard workout.
Compression appears to assist with cooling tissues more rapidly. This is particularly important in the case of an acute injury in which rapid cooling is desired to minimize the extent of inflammation and secondary ischemic injury to the tissue caused by the inflammatory process.
Most of Ted’s icing products, such as the Moji knee brace, use a combination of ice and compression — to help those old muscles recover and aid injury treatment.
I use ice compression simply because it feels good and seems to help me recover.
