Chinese medicine theory has long disagreed with the notion of icing injuries. According to Chinese medicine, the way to stop pain and improve healing is to stimulate blood circulation through the injured area by keeping it warm. This can be best achieved through gentle movement of the strained area, not by restricting movement and applying cold. Applying ice or a cold topamax compress may decrease swelling in the short term, but it will stop the movement of blood and make pain worse in the long run.
Excerpt: “Topical cooling (icing)?.?.?.?seems not to improve but, rather, delay recovery from eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage,” according to a 2013 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.
http://www.macleans.ca/society/the-end-of-the-ice-age/
About the Author: Rebecca Wong has a BA in English Literature from the University of Waterloo and has been working in the herbal business since 2000. She studied at the Ontario College of Traditional Chinese Medicine under respected authorities Paul Des Rosiers and Vu Le, and graduated from the East West School of Planetary Herbology under Michael Tierra. She received training as a yoga teacher at The Branches in Kitchener/Waterloo, and therapeutic yoga teacher training from the School for Somatic Soulwork under Deniz Aydoslu. She now teaches yoga for anxiety, depression and burnout at Rebecca's Restful Yoga Studio in Toronto.