Cryotherapy influence on posttraumatic limb edema

The potential of local cooling to reduce posttraumatic swelling has been assessed on rabbits. A standard crush injury to a forelimb was used as a control model. In a treatment regimen of one hour of cooling following the injury, 30 degrees C proved to perform best, this group having less residual swelling at 24 hours than the 20 degrees C group. Repeated applications of cooling in 3 cycles of one hour of cooling followed by one hour exposure to ambient room air showed residual swelling at 24 hours in both 20 degrees C and 30 degrees C groups. Although no clear-cut clinical directives can be made from the data, it does appear that too much cold or too long application may be deleterious. For these reasons, discretion in the utilization of cold therapy is warranted. Within limits of physiologic conditions, there is empirical evidence for the use of icing treatment of local musculoskeletal trauma.