Ice Massage: My Personal Favorite Therapy

After a lengthy hiatus, I will attempt to pick up where I left off prior to the world spinning out of control for a year or so. Today I'll be talking about ice massage. It is a therapy that I personally have a lot of love for. It is like the Swiss Army knife of therapies and can be used in almost any situation. I particularly like this therapy for plantar fasciitis and any soft tissue injury or inflammation. It is used to break up scar tissue, loosen up exhausted muscles, and decrease swelling and inflammation. There are a number of ways that this can be done, so I'm not particular to any individual method. Because the easiest way to do it is typically the one that gets used, I will often recommend this first because any treatment is going to be more reliably performed if it is easy and simple to do, with little additional effort or extra work. There really isn't much fluff or introduction left to cover, so I'll just get down to it. Frozen Water Bottle The simplest way to perform ice massage is to take a bottle of water and freeze it standing up (won't be nearly as useful if there are bubbles in the middle of this frozen rolling pin we're creating). This is very useful for issues beneath the foot. Plantar fasciitis is by far the most common use for this method, because there are better ways to massage a tendon than a rolling pin. Once the bottle is frozen, you simply roll it under your arch and heel. Do this gently, typically for 10-15 min per foot. I usually recommend this morning and night while dealing with a fresh injury or inflammation. It doesn't have to be forever, because this helps to whole process along well. An alternative method to massage is to take a paper cup, fill it with water, then rip away the mouth of the cup so the end of the ice is exposed. You then use the little handhold of paper as a little grip and massage anywhere that is affected. I typically recommend short stints initially, so you don't freeze your little piggies off while figuring out how much massage time you can tolerate. Start with 5-10 min sessions, massaging in small circles around the affected area. The beauty of this little technique is that you are the one in control. You get to decide how hard or soft to press, how long to massage, and how often to do it. This can be a two-edged sword, because you could go too long, or not do a good enough job of kneading through the knots in the tissue, but you can experiment a little until you get it just right for you. If you're aggressive with the therapy, you can expect to be sore for a day or so the first time you really dig in and massage it, but that typically fades as scar tissue resolves. If it isn't helping, often it can be helpful to press a little harder, massage a little deeper, but it's also possible you overdid it. There are alternatives to these methods, and there is no shortage of devices online that will help you massage your feet. Whether they are spiky rubber balls, or large, metal spheres you can throw in the freezer, they all perform a similar function. Shiatsu massagers also will pamper your feet, which is nice and luxurious. The heat can flare things up if you're not careful, however, so if you are going to use one for bad plantar fasciitis, I recommend a few min of a cold-pack on the feet afterwards to dampen any amount of inflammation that can result from it. Hope this little primer helps you tackle your aches and pains! Please leave questions or comments below!