Go home, ice & elevate.

Sound familiar?

In today’s post, I am going to discuss with you the why behind ice & elevation. We will also discuss how to make sure you have the tools to achieve a comfortable ice & elevation position to benefit you after injury or post-surgical. Let’s dive in!

The Science Behind Swelling After an Injury

Let’s start with the why.

Oftentimes, when we have an injury, the area of injury tends to be below the level of the heart. Most parts of your body including wrist, elbow, knee, ankle, etc. are all below the level of your heart. Because of this, when we injure one of these areas, we will have an amount of swelling occur.

A big part of how your body manages swelling and extra fluid is to rely on your muscles to pump the fluid throughout your circulatory system. When you injure an area, the muscles surrounding that region cannot as effectively return the fluid into your circulatory system, resulting in fluid pooling. Hello, swelling.

Using Gravity to Your Advantage

So what does elevating your extremity look like and what’s the purpose of it? Elevating your injured extremity uses gravity to assist returning the extra fluid back into your circulatory system. This really is simply physics. Gravity is always working down, so if your leg is elevated above your heart, gravity is pulling that fluid down back toward your heart.

Because of this fact, putting a swollen ankle or knee up on a chair in front of you doesn’t exactly cut the mustard. It puts the limb at a disadvantage because gravity is still working downward, but now downward toward the limb.

Elevating above heart level is the key to letting gravity do the work to aid your body in returning fluid to the circulatory system.

Elevating Upper Extremities Above Heart Level

a doctor fitting a patient for a wrist splint

Let’s get into how you can successfully elevate your limbs above heart level.

To elevate and upper extremity, place it on the back of a couch, a high pillow, or recline your body and place the arm on a pillow next to you that once again puts it above heart level. It is not necessary to wing your arm overhead to achieve above heart level.

Elevating Lower Extremities Above Heart Level

For your lower extremities, you can also place them up on the back of a couch, stack pillows underneath them, or lay on the ground and place your leg up on a couch or bed.

Finding a comfortable position that you are willing to remain in for 20-30 minutes is key, so get comfy. Take some time to rearrange furniture, pillows, or your couch to help you achieve a comfortable position.

The Risks of Over Icing After Surgery or Injury

Over the years, there has been controversy of whether or not to ice post-injury & post-surgery. Depending on the situation, icing an extremity can be beneficial or detrimental.

Let’s start with the dangers of icing. It is important to monitor the amount of time you are icing in one sitting. When icing, the duration should be no longer than 20 minutes and if your body part becomes numb, it is time to take the ice off.

Over utilizing ice can result in more harm than good. If ice is left on for too long, it can result in not enough room for healing mediators like blood, nutrients, and oxygen to reach the area to promote recovery.

The Benefits of Icing After Surgery or Injury

Now the benefits.

Using ice as appropriate helps to tighten up the surrounding tissue, flushing out additional fluid from the area. This can sometimes result in needing to use the restroom because whatever excess fluid empties from your circulatory system results in the need to urinate.

Being up on your feet and moving can also be a good way to assist your muscles in returning fluid to your circulatory system. It can also help to reduce the risk of blood clots & promote healing, both important things following injury or surgery. Check out my blog post here where I provide tips to successfully move with your body, meeting it where it’s at.

Icing & Elevating to Promote Healing

At the end of the day, after injury or surgical intervention, we want to feel better faster. Following the advice and parameters within this post is a good place to start. Elevate your limb above heart level and listen to your body. If you find that you feel that you need to move, then do some gentle movement. If you feel that your body needs some rest, then give it that.

Whether you use this information for you as a parent, or your children, you will be on the right path to recovery. To learn more about managing pain and injury before it becomes too late, check out our video below.