Saturday, February 11, 2012

RICE and relaxing

Here's a little pop quiz for you.  Do you remember the acronym RICE stands for? 

Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation

Just about everyone who's an athlete has become familiar with this at some point.   

First rest your body.  Ice the affected area.  You may need to wrap it in an ACE bandage, and of course, don't forget to elevate.  



I'm not saying that you're going to become injured if you participate in our programs, far from it!  Hopefully you won't ever need this advice, but you may be interested in knowing you can rest, ice and elevate, even when you're not injured.  

Let me tell you what I like to do when I come home from a particularly taxing run or bike, you might want to try it.  

Lie down and prop your feet up on a few pillows.  Put some ice on your knees, or wherever you feel like you can use some relief (the picture shows the athlete icing their quads).  It feels great to relax as the blood flows back down your legs and the ice pack is working it's magic.  Try it and see what you think!  

See also: ice baths!


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