You squeeze your eyes shut and will away the heat, soreness, and exhaustion. Just a bit more.

Three …
Two …
One …

SCREEECH! Finally, the whistle blows, and you head off the field straight for that ice pack—for sweet, cold relief.

Ten minutes later, you peel off the ice pack and jog back onto the field, ready to resume play. Or not.

According to a review article published last month in the journal Sports Medicine, icing immediately before or during activity affects performance adversely contrary to such action after play.

The study, conducted by researchers at University of Ulster in the United Kingdom, analyzed a variety of prior studies that examined the relationship between icing and muscle performance and found that in most cases, extended icing prior to play would decrease power, agility, jump height, and overall dexterity.

Those negative effects were found to increase with the length of cooling time. With 10 or more minutes of icing, dexterity and strength were observably worsened, while less than 10 minutes of icing saw negligible changes in performance quality.

The study did not examine the reasons behind ice’s detrimental effect on muscle activity. Nonetheless, Dr. Chris Bleakley, the head researcher of the study, said in a phone interview with The Winged Post that there were probably “a number of factors.” He said that the hemodynamic response (blood flow) “might be relevant,” but that a neurological effect was “more likely:” cold temperatures probably have a “much faster and probably much more potent effect on nerve conduction velocity.”

Dr. Jeffrey Blue, the school physician, agrees. Elaborating on ice’s hemodynamic effect, he said, “[ice] causes a decrease in blood flow to the muscle [and] some stiffness afterward.”

Evidently, icing muscles has its benefits too. It is part of the four-step routine for treating basic injuries, commonly summarized by the first aid acronym RICE: Rice, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.

For example, ice lowers the elevated temperatures that accompany exercise and numbs pain and inflammations.
For cross-country runner Ragini Bhattacharya (11), who would ice after every practice, that numbing effect makes a “night and day difference.”

“If I don’t ice, the next day my shins will be pounding, but if I ice, then it numbs [the pain]. It still hurts, but it’s at least better,” she said.

Meanwhile, even though water polo player Akshay Ramachandran (12) does not feel the consequence of refraining from icing sore muscles, he believes that doing so does indeed relieve pain.

“[Icing cools my muscles] down and when [I] take the ice off the blood rushes back … and so it feels nice after I work out,” he said.

However, Dr. Bleakley notes that the numbing effect could be a double-edged sword: by masking pain, it may encourage an athlete to return to play with injured tissue.

For optimal performance and minimal injury risk, Dr. Blue recommends that players warm up before the game and remain warm and loose during exercise. He said that cooling is only effective after exercise or right before going to bed.

Dr. Bleakley concurs that icing “depends on what the rationale is for applying cooling. As with any intervention, [athletes] have to weigh the pros and cons.”

For those who do decide to ice during play, Dr. Bleakley said that the “best practice” is to apply ice for short periods and warm up briefly before charging back into full activity.