Ice and RSD
 

I have heard not to use ice in the treatment of RSD and TO use it (as an aid in desensitization)... what are your thoughts on this? Was ice helpful or not in your RSD treatment? Do you know of any actual studies done on this topic? TIA!

I don't know of any studies... but I can tell you that my physical therapist used ice on me and I thought I was on fire... I've never felt pain like that. Normally ice will hurt until the are goes cold numb... mine never did go numb...pain just kept going up.

When I told my doctor that's when I was diagnosed with RSD... well this and the other symptoms combined.

After the RSD diagnosis my PT put in the file to never use ice and through trial & error we found out I can't tolerate temperatures below 60 or over 80 without it causing a major flare.

Hi Vanessa,
Welcome!

Just personal experience, but ice is intolerable for me. My RSD started in the cast (but I didn't realize that till later) after a colles fracture with complications. The day after the cast came off I was sent to PT. Up till then, it had been extremely painful, with pain the first and foremost symptom.

After the PT, they iced my arm in polar thermafrost, it seemed, for 20 mins. It was the worst agony of my life, bar nerve tooth pain, but they wouldn't remove it, sat and watched me right the way through as I suffered what seemed like having my arm plunged into boiling water and kept there.

When the ice was removed the arm and hand looked like it had been severely burned, was dayglo bright red, suffused in nerve pain but fizzed and hummed like a sound and that was it, RSD proper. It was like the ice was the gelatine that set the RSD jello.

So, while I believe desensitization is necessary for many reasons, and I give myself a "refresher course" every so often, I do it without the aid(!!) of ice - there is no situation in life that would induce me to go near ice, under any circumstances. I know "in my bones" that icing it would bring the RSD back up to the 10 in terms of pain, and get the condition roaring back full blast.

My arm and hand, especially, is very sensitive to cold, I've cut the arms off old sweaters and put those on the arm and wear double gloves, very loose-style, in the cold. So for me ice is completely out of the question.

We're all different, though. As far as the PT went, I found contrast cool and warm water immersion to be the most helpful. Hope this helps...
all the best :)

hope this helps
 

Thanks. :) That is where I read that ice should NOT be used in treating RSD. I really like Dr Hooshmand's articles, theories and all. He seems very knowledgable in dealing with RSD.
I was wondering if there was any site with a Dr who said TO use ice and who gives an explanation on why and how it would help. :confused:

I know that many people cannot tolerate ice with RSD. But for me, I LOVE the ice. It is very soothing with the burning/ aching pain I have. However, when I found out that ice has a negative effect on RSD patients I have stopped using the ice and have been trying to research about it.


What about cold cold water (nothing below 55 degrees)? Does anyone know if that would have a negative effect? For me, cold soothes and feels so good, but heat I cannot tolerate.
My Dr mentioned contrast baths. Has that helped anyone?

Thanks for the help!

Thanks for the welcome! Cute doggy, Artist! :)

I have always used the ice after PT, as well.

My PT is great and very willing to listen to what I think about the ice. As I think about it, maybe the ice HAS had a negative effect, but temporarily felt good. As I have read, ice is a short term anesthetic in some people.

It has been said that 87% of people with RSD are not able to tolerate the cold, and 13% are not able to tolerate the heat.

I believe Dr Hooshmand also advises against contrast baths.

Hi,

Yes, in the early stages of PT after the arm break, they were the main thing that relaxed everything well enough to stand the exercises. But I had to modify them, so I used cold water, interchanged with moderately hot water.

Oh yes, the other thing that really helped was paraffin wax..but I don't have a "home" wax heater thingy, so I only had those at the PT place. Wish I did have one, specially for the cold weather, (yes, it's gone cold in Hong Kong..) they are *wonderful*!
all the best :)

I, too, have had similar experiences to artist and the rest.

I had vicious rsd in an ankle/leg break. Pt very soon involved hot baths and a bucket of ice and water. My foot/leg looked horribly traumatized after and the pain escalated. I bailed out of there the day a fireman with two broken arms in for treatment raced across the room to yank me out of the tub as he saw that the temp had crept up to a malfunctioning high. He said that he had noticed that my foot/leg was getting worse over the course of a few days treatment.

Interestingly, as the years passed and I entered what i called a hot burning phase i found myself searching for cold tiled floors on which to stand for a few minutes. I also did moderate running of cool water then warm on my hands, always for only a round a min each time. I tried anything to soothe the pain. Moderate temps did seem to help.

I have on occasion used an ice pack for 5 min on a non rsd area of my body. That seemed to have no ill effects. But again, I have few non hurting areas so i am wary of it and rarely have done it.

I too find my tolerance is from 19 c to 25 c in temps .. too far below and pain shoots up, too far above 25 and the same happens.

Would that I could live in a temperate climate.

All the best everyone,
Ina