The use of cold as a therapeutic agent for pain relief and inflammation dates as far back as Egypt in 3500 BC and has been used throughout human history. Baron de Larrey, a French army surgeon during Napoleon’s 1812 Russian campaign, packed limbs in ice prior to amputations to render the procedures painless. In the early 1940’s ice was brutally applied by the Nazis in the Dachau Hypothermia experiments to understand the physiological effects of cooling the body. The atrocity of these experiments contributed to the development of the Nuremberg Code which forever changed the way future human research was conducted.
The use of ice to reduce inflammation by physiotherapists paralleled technological advancements in its manufacture. First refrigeration and later automated ice-making machines made the large quantities of small cubes easy to procure. Ice was applied with the cubes in towels and later with plastic bags that wrapped around the limb or by placing the limb and sometimes even the whole body in an ice and water bath.
The earliest documentation of ice as part of the acute injury management protocol dates back to 1978 when the acronym RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) was coined by Dr Gabe Mirkin. His intention behind using ice was to minimise the inflammatory response in an attempt to accelerate healing. This protocol became deeply rooted in sports physiotherapy culture.
Description provided by Glenn Ruscoe of Australia
References:
Mirkin G & Hoffman M. 1978. The sporstmedicine book, 1st ed. Little Brown and Co.
