22/09/2026
Rolled an ankle or tweaked a muscle this week? That ice pack might not be doing what you think.
For decades the advice was RICE: rest, ice, compression, elevation. Here's where the research sits now 👇
Ice can take the edge off pain in the first few days. That's real, and it's cheap.
What it hasn't been shown to do is speed up healing. A 2024 review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that almost all the research on ice and tissue healing has been done in animals. There's some concern it may slow repair after bigger injuries, but that evidence is mostly from animals too.
So ice isn't the enemy. It just isn't the treatment.
What current guidance puts first:
1️⃣ Early, gentle movement. Weight-bear as comfort allows and build up over days, not weeks.
2️⃣ Protect and support. Compression or a brace for the first few days, elevate when you can, and know roughly how long your recovery should take.
If ice helps you move more comfortably, use it: 10–15 minutes, with a cloth between the ice and your skin.
⚠️ Get assessed promptly if:
- you can't take four steps on it
- there's pain directly on the bone
- the joint looks out of shape
- you have numbness or pins and needles
- swelling comes up fast and severe
Not sure how to load an injury in the first week? That's exactly what we assess at Kiome Wellness Group in East Melbourne. Book at www.kiome.au.
Save this for the next time someone reaches for the frozen peas 🧊
