I have a question about the use of ice in pt and rsd. I just came back from my umpinth trip from pt, I have a new therapist..I have pool pt and land...this was land pt, and she insisted on putting ice on my rsd ankle...I told her that you should not put ice on it, but she said that I have to desensitise my ankle to all things...so I submitted and on went the ice, it did not feel too good, but didnt kill me..lol...she said I must but confusing it raynaulds syndrome. I know what I have read and I am not confusing it...Any thoughts anyone???? Im rambling again and spelling badly...sorry
Jeannine

Hi Jeannine,

I always use ice. I am a Chiropractic care patient and I bought two large ice packs from him. I have been dealing with full body CRPS for 9 years. Ice helps me.

Take care,
Sherrie

Ice is generally a no go with RSD. If you have a PT that doesn't know that, IMHO, you need a new PT.

(Sherrie is an exception, she's had CRPS for 9 years and knows what works for her).

I think the liberal use of ice after my second shoulder surgery, combined with real aggressive PT who ignored my claims of pain, was the likely cause of my RSD.

Sandy

Thanks, thats what I thought...guess I will ask pm dr. on Wed to double check...
Jeannine

Using ice when you have "cold" rsd will only make things worse and the pain too. "Cold" rsd is only referring to the temp of the skin. In this kind of rsd the blood vessels are already constricted comprimising blood flow. The constriction is the reason our skin is cold and why it turns our skin different colors, ie purple, blue, pink.

When you put ice on "cold" rsd, it constricts the blood vessels even more which also cuts off even more circulation leading to higher pain, a worsening of rsd in that area and possible spread. This is the reason ice is a big NO for rsd. It does not help and ice has no place in desensitization. To desensitize skin, you start with very soft things and slowly, very slowly work toward using rougher feeling things.

When something is already cold, you don't add cold to it, you add HEAT!

With "hot" rsd, the skin being red and feeling warm or hot, these people usually use ice and it feels good. Ice for the heat. With "hot" rsd, using heat makes their pain go up and things worse for them. It's just that simple, Ice = Heat, Heat = Ice. :-D

Hugs,

Karen

i have rsd for 11yrs and cant tolerate ice period.. but i have both cold and hot rsd.. my arms will generally be the warm and hips down cold.. but i have always been told never ice period ..

carrie

I have both hot and cold RSD and I use ice on the areas that I know need the ice instead of the heat. Heat does make some areas worse for me. I use heating pads for other areas. I think it just depends on what each of us learn what we can stand.

Ada

I myself cannot use ice at all on any part of me that has RSD. Did that once and ended up with frost bite on my knee in just a few minutes. With that said, though everyone is different. But generally speaking I have not heard many RSD patients that use ice on their affected limbs.

Before I was diagnosed with RSD, my PT's used to put ice on my leg and it aggrivated things a LOT! I remember dreading going to PT as I knew they were going to ice my leg and I would be in tears for a few hours afterwards. The ice made my leg go blue and purple also and the spasms got a lot worse after icing.

It was only when I was diagnosed with RSD that my Pain Management Doctor told us you should never ice an RSD limb and that the ice probably made things worse and contributed to the problems I now have as it can cause nerve damage.

I have read a few articles on the internet stating that icing an RSD limb is probably one of the worst things you can do as it will probably make things worse. I really wish we knew that at the time as I would have never agreed to the icing but my PT's told me it would help with the swelling - boy were they wrong!

I would definitely speak to your PT's and ask them exactly why they are icing your RSD limb and whether they know they shouldn't do that, especially seeing as it's making you worse. It doesn't sound like they are very trained in dealing with RSD if they think icing is a good thing to do!!

If you aren't happy with your PT's, please try and find another one! It is REALLY important that you find a PT that is trained in dealing with RSD and knows what they are talking about otherwise it will only make things worse!!

I guess it's different for everyone but seeing as though the ice is making you feel worse, I wouldn't use it at all and would speak to your PTs. Theres quite a few articles on the internet about the use of ice in RSD that might be worth taking to your next PT appt.

I hope you can get things sorted soon and feel better! Please keep us posted and know you are in my thoughts!

Hello everyone,
I have experienced the Ice/Heat dilemma and after trial and error I have determined this routine helps me. Both my Ortho and PM doc said that I would have to find the happy medium between Ice/Heat.

Knee (where original injury is located) will get so hot and on fire that it turns red and will swell. I have to put Ice wrap on this area but can only stand it for about 10min max. Ice does send my PES Area, which is where the main nerve damage is, into chaos because it is so close to my knee/meniscus injury but I have to get relief to my knee. So I just deal with it!

Foot/Lower leg where RSD runs wild, limb will get so frozen that I have to put heating pad on it to ease the intense cold burning. Toes turn purple and go numb and leg gets the usual molten color. It is uncomfortable at first but does help get body temp up in this area to take the edge off the pain.

Hip and lower back where RSD is starting to rear its ugly head; I need heat to warm that area to stop the burning needle sensation. I learned early on NO Ice on my sciatica area. That wakes the monster in my entire leg. I have a small back massager that has heat which I position at my lower back and it helps a lot.

For my migraines triggered by the pain, I use Ice on my head to keep it from exploding.

Just thoughts I would share my experiences on this subject. I hope everyone can find some form of relief and comfort.