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The current study investigated the use of ice massage of the acupressure energy meridian point large intestine 4 (LI4) to reduce labor pain during contractions. LI4 is located on the medial midpoint of the first metacarpal, within 3 to 4 mm of the web of skin between the thumb and forefinger. A one-group, pretest, posttest design was chosen, which used 100-mm Visual Analog Scales (VAS) and the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) ranked numerically and verbally to measure pain levels; the pretest served as the control. Study participants were Hispanic and white Medicaid recipients who received prenatal care at a women's clinic staffed by certified nurse-midwives and obstetricians. Participants noted a pain reduction mean on the VAS of 28.22 mm on the left hand and 11.93 mm on the right hand. The postdelivery ranked MPQ dropped from number 3 (distressing) to number 2 (discomforting). The study results suggest that ice massage is a safe, noninvasive, nonpharmacological method of reducing labor pain.

Bu çalışma, 29 Haziran-2 Temmuz 1989'da Amsterdam[Hollanda]'da düzenlenen 3. International Congress, Back Pain, Current Concepts and Recent Advances'da bildiri olarak sunulmuştur. Mekanik bel ağrısının buz masajı ile tedavisi placebo kontrollü randomize bir çalışma olarak 29 hastada yapıldı. Ağrı, kas spazmı, basmakla duyarlılık, lumbar fleksibilite tedavinin etkinliğini saptamada kullanıldı. Hastalar rastgele olarak iki gruba ayrıldı. I. grup (n = 16) buz masajı aldı. II. grup (n = 13) placebo tedavisi aldı. 3 haftalık tedavi sonunda buz masajı olan grup da tüm parametreler istatistiksel anlamlı olarak düzeldi (p < 0.005). Öte yandan ll. grupta hastalar yalnızca ağrı parametresinde düzelmişti. Buz masajı placeboya göre daha yararlıydı. Ice massage treatment of Mechanical Low Back Pain was studied in a placebo controlled, randomized trial completed by 29 patients. Pain, muscle spasm, tenderness on palpation, lumber flexibility were used as criteria to determine the efficacy of treatment. The patients were divided into two groups by randomisation. In group I. (n = 16), patients received ice massages. In group II (n = 13), they received placebo. At the end of three weeks; The patients receiving ice massage (group I) had improved in all parameters statistically significantly. On the other hand the patients in group II had improved in only pain parameters. Our results showed that tlıat ice massage is more useful than placebo.

Presented at the Sports Physical Therapy Section Team Concept Meeting, December 1990, Orlando, FL. Local blood flow to the calf of human subjects during the application of therapeutic modalities was estimated using impedance plethysmography. The modalities compared included ice massage, ice pack, ultrasound, hot pack, ice massage and ultrasound, and hot pack and ultrasound. It was found that neither ice pack nor ice massage significantly decreased blood flow compared to the control. The hot pack caused a significant increase in blood flow during application. Ultrasound was found to significantly increase blood flow up to 45 minutes following application. The use of hot packs prior to the ultrasound treatment did not significantly enhance the effect of ultrasound. It was concluded that neither ice massage nor ice pack treatments would decrease blood flow. Ultrasound may be beneficial in increasing blood flow during rehabilitation. Treatment with a modality prior to ultrasound will not enhance the effect on blood flow. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1991;13(1):23-27.

It's personal! I won my varsity letter playing for Akron Central High School. It started innocently enough. My best friend was #1 on the tennis team and to keep him company, I volunteered to be manager ... a single task. Through a series of injuries, I was needed to complete the team schedule and contributed in a small way to the city championship. When I returned from the service, 30 months in the South-West Pacific, I enrolled at Ohio State and participated as a walk on in the tennis program. Only 1 year later, I was in medical school and my tennis career had an intermission. Let's try 20 years. When I returned to the courts, it was 2 X a week in the early morning and soon we had a group of commited 'early birds'. Now 20 years more have past and our summer tennis program includes gold, silver, and platinum ... ages 45, 55, and 65. The platinum team at our club has 20 members, three-quarters of whom are 70 or over (my partner is 76; our captain is 85; I am 70). Our captain is nationally ranked in both singles and doubles in his age group. Because of summer vacations and work schedules, only about half of the team are usually available so we have difficulty fielding the required 3 teams of doubles. My contribution is the quickness and endurance of a 70-year-old who likes to play and accommodates willingly to a variety of partners both in skill level and coordination. We practice once weekly, play one league match each week and participate in regular doubles at least one other time each week. Some of our members appear with 2 rackets, ace bandage knee wraps, tennis elbow straps and ankle sleeves. Others begin with 400 mg of ibuprofen, a proproxyphen capsule, or 2 enteric aspirin. Many finish with ice massage and hot shower. None complain, at least, verbally. Occasionally, I host a brief consultation session after the match ... generally reassuring my colleague with an empathetic 'No problem'. I may even assign a diagnosis 'gray hair of the knee, back, etc.' Few of these 'mature,' aging, seniors with heavy 'wear and tear' bodies miss any sessions. Many, however, complain if they lose. Some agonize with classic excuses ... balls too heavy racket strung too tight sun too hot too much wind, etc., etc. So what's different about weekend athletes over 60? Nothing. There are national tournaments and rankings for 70's, 80's and 90's. Even the King of Sweden played a fair game of tennis in his 90's. Serve 'em up!

The following hypotheses were tested in the present study: (1) cryotherapy would reduce delayed muscle soreness (DMS) in eccentrically exercised muscles; (2) early cold treatment would reduce this soreness more than later postexercise treatment times; and (3) joint range of motion (ROM) would be inversely related to the subjective soreness ratings. Subjective sensations of muscular soreness and changes in elbow joint ROM were assessed in 30 subjects at 0, 24, 48, and 72 hours following eccentric-biased exercise in the elbow flexors. Cold treatments were applied immediately, 24 or 48 hours following a single exercise session. In response to the eccentric exercise, significant muscle soreness increases and elbow ROM decreases were observed in all exercised muscles from 24 to 48 hours postexercise. No differences in muscle soreness or elbow ROM changes were observed between treated and untreated arms except for one. Subjects treated at 24 hours postexercise reported greater soreness in their arms compared to untreated arms just prior to treatment (24 hour postexercise). The results do not support the efficacy of cold in reducing DMS. A negative correlation between muscle soreness and elbow ROM at 48 and 72 hours postexercise indicated that an increase in soreness was associated with a decrease in ROM.

Physiotherapy stations along the Comrades Marathon route provided treatment for musculoskeletal problems. Common muscular conditions encountered were fatigue, cramp and strains. These were treated with ice massage, conventional massage or a combination of the two. Every runner was also encouraged to stretch the affected muscles. Joint related injuries were strapped. Questionnaires were sent to runners to assess the effectiveness of the treatment received. Most runners reported that the treatments helped. In spite of the limited treatment time available nearly half of those treated gained lasting relief.

A question of current interest and debate in physical therapy is the proper treatment of shinsplints. Various investigators have espoused the merits of different treatment programs for the clinical management of shinsplints. However, data comparing the effectiveness of the several methods is limited. This study compares the effects of ice massage, ultrasound, iontophoresis, and phonophoresis in young adults with a shinsplint syndrome. The results indicate that none of these treatment modalities was superior to another; however, all were clearly superior to a controlled treatment program. Regression analyses indicated that appropriate treatment modalities for shinsplints should be a function of the restoration of the individual's range of motion, the number of treatments that can be provided, and the availability of the treatment mode. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1986;8(2):77-80.

The study was designed to produce objective data on the rate of local cooling following the ice massage technique of cold application and the rate of rewarming following termination of the ice application. More importantly, the onset of skin analgesia and its duration were evaluated. Sixteen normal subjects participated in four testing sessions, two of which were control session. A thermistor unit with probes monitored skin temperature and a standardized pain-evoking stimulus was used to verify analgesia. Analgesia was elicited by the ice massage only after the localized region had been cooled to, and maintained below, 13.6 degrees Celsius. The rate of cooling for the localized skin was more rapid than the rate of rewarming. The ten-minute ice massage was an effective procedure in achieving analgesia and, thus, may be sufficient to permit therapeutic exercise of selective painful conditions during, and for approximately three minutes immediately following, application.

Osgood-Schlatter disease is a traction apophysitis of the tibial tubercle, the weakest link of the extensor mechanism of the adolescent. Conventional medical treatment includes plaster casting, injections of various anti-inflammatories, and surgical removal of painful ossicles in resistant cases. While not a very common condition, Osgood-Schlatter disease is being seen with increasing frequency in teenage athletes, especially basketball players (Antich, Lombardo, J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 7: 1-4, 1985.) With a focus on muscular tightness as a possible causative factor, physical therapy evaluation is outlined, followed by techniques for pain control and stretching exercises for the quadriceps and hamstrings. Ice massage is advocated as a way for the athlete to treat postexertional discomfort in the area of the tubercle. The patient and his or her parents must be assured that while residual deformity may remain, disappearance of symptoms coinciding with closure of the apophyseal plate is often the end result.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1985;7(1):5-10.

It has recently been shown that ice massage of the web between the thumb and index finger produces significantly greater relief of dental pain than a placebo control procedure. These results indicate that ice massage may be comparable to transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TES) and acupuncture, and may be mediated by similar neural mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to examine the relative effectiveness of ice massage and TES for the relief of low-back pain. Patients suffering chronic low-back pain were treated with both ice massage and TES. The order of treatments was balanced, and changes in the intensity of pain were measured with the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ). The results show that both methods are equally effective: based on the Pain Rating Index of the MPQ, 67-69% of patients obtained pain relief greater than 33% with each method. The results indicate that ice massage is an effective therapeutic tool, and appears to be more effective than TES for some patients. It may also serve as an additional sensory-modulation method to alternate with TES to overcome adaptation effects. Evidence that cold signals are transmitted to the spinal cord exclusively by A-delta fibers and not by C fibers suggests that ice massage provides a potential method for differentiating among the multiple feedback systems that mediate analgesia produced by different forms of intense sensory input.

Patients suffering from acute dental pain were treated with ice massage of the web between the thumb and index finger of the hand on the same side as the painful region. Control groups received tactile massage alone or with explicit suggestion that the massage was intended to alleviate their pain. Changes in pain intensity produced by the procedures were measured with the McGill Pain Questionnaire. Ice massage decreased the intensity of the dental pain by 50% or more in the majority of patients. Furthermore, the pain reductions produced by ice massage were significantly larger than those produced by tactile massage alone or with explicit suggestion. The results indicate that ice massage has pain-reducing effects comparable to those of transcutaneous electrical stimulation and acupuncture. The fact that cold signals are transmitted to the spinal cord exclusively by A-delta fibres and not by C fibres provides a potential method for differentiating the various feedback systems that mediate analgesia produced by different forms of intense sensory input. Ice massage provides a simple method for the palliative control of pain in dental clinics.

It has recently been shown that ice massage of the web between the thumb and index finger produces significantly greater relief of dental pain than a placebo control procedure. These results indicate that ice massage may be comparable to transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TES) and acupuncture, and may be mediated by similar neural mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to examine the relative effectiveness of ice massage and TES for the relief of low-back pain. Patients suffering chronic low-back pain were treated with both ice massage and TES. The order of treatments was balanced, and changes in the intensity of pain were measured with the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ). The results show that both methods are equally effective: based on the Pain Rating Index of the MPQ, 67-69% of patients obtained pain relief greater than 33% with each method. The results indicate that ice massage is an effective therapeutic tool, and appears to be more effective than TES for some patients. It may also serve as an additional sensory-modulation method to alternate with TES to overcome adaptation effects. Evidence that cold signals are transmitted to the spinal cord exclusively by A-delta fibers and not by C fibers suggests that ice massage provides a potential method for differentiating among the multiple feedback systems that mediate analgesia produced by different forms of intense sensory input.

The purpose of this study was to examine the intramuscular temperature response during an ice massage treatment. In addition, the effect of subcutaneous tissue thickness and limb circumference on temperature changes was investigated. Intramuscular temperature was measured by intramuscular thermocouples each minute during ice massage treatments of five, ten and fifteen minutes. It was shown that ice massage produces a significant drop in intramuscular temperature. However, there was no significant difference in temperature change after five minutes of treatment. In addition it was shown that there is a high multiple correlation between logarithmic time, subcutaneous tissue thickness, limb circumference, and intramuscular temperature change.