Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Non-invasive Assessments of Subjective and Objective Recovery Characteristics Following an Exhaustive Jump Protocol
Published on: June 8, 2017
Effectiveness of ice packs in reducing skin temperature under casts
L Metzman1, J G Gamble, L A Rinsky
1Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Abstract:
Skin temperature lowering effects were measured after application of crushed ice packs to the surface of synthetic and plaster casts. The skin temperature of legs in synthetic casts decreased an average of 10.4 degrees C (range, 8.3 degrees-12.6 degrees) to a minimum temperature of 19.7 degrees C (range, 16.2 degrees-21.8 degrees), and the temperature of legs in plaster casts decreased an average of 11 degrees C to a minimum of 18.7 degrees C (range, 13 degrees-22.8 degrees). It took an average of 56 minutes (range, 40-80 minutes) for the legs in synthetic casts and 63.8 minutes (range, 26-116 minutes) for the legs in plaster casts to reach the minimum temperature. Cryotherapy is used clinically with the intention of lowering skin temperature and presumably decreasing the pain and swelling of a patient's injured extremity. The presence of a synthetic or a plaster cast does not eliminate the lowering effects of skin temperature when crushed ice packs are applied to the surface of the casts.
Related Concept Videos
Decreased Body Temperature
Hot Weather Concreting
Mitigating the heat increase in concrete can be economically achieved by shading aggregate stockpiles to prevent heating from solar radiation,...
Cold Weather Concreting
To counteract the negative impacts of cold weather, ensuring...
Peripheral Artery Disease V: Postoperative Nursing Management

