If you’re active, you’ve probably got an ice pack in your freezer ready to soothe an unexpected injury. But ice isn’t the panacea it once was for treating sports injuries. The old R.I.C.E (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) approach to healing a sprained ankle, pulled muscle or sore back has been officially rescinded by the person who first coined the phrase in the late ‘70s.

“Coaches have used my ‘RICE’ guideline for decades, but now it appears that both ice and complete rest may delay healing, instead of helping,” said Dr. Gabe Mirkin, author of The Sports Medicine Book, published in 1978.

For decades, sport medicine professionals recommended icing sports injuries as a way to reduce pain and swelling. Referred to as the secondary stage of an injury, pain and inflammation are normal responses when damage to the soft tissue occurs. But instead of minimizing that phase, experts now believe that the secondary stage of an injury is an important step toward repair. Using ice to lessen inflammation and reduce blood flow actually disrupts the natural healing cycle.

How did icing injuries become the standard of care for decades? Much of the early research was done on animals. But animals are covered in hair, are smaller in size and have less body........

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