How does ice help swelling to go down?
When you induce some sort of trauma to soft tissue, the capillaries let out white blood cells, known as neutrophils, to the damaged area in order to prevent infection. These neutrophils cause other white blood cells to migrate to the area using chemical attractants known as chemotactic factors. There is increased blood flow to the area in order to deliver blood and nutrients to the damaged tissue in order to begin the healing process. The inflammation and redness is a result of increased blood flow to the area of injury, and you can also get swelling there known as edema. The problem is, the body usually over-reacts to an injury and causes uncomfortable swelling an inflammation. The ice is used to slow down, or regulate, the entire process described above. Cheers!
