I'd like to hear a comparison of ice therapy (of any means, such as ice bath or packs) vs compression therapy (such as Normatec, etc).
They obviously work by different means - ice by decreasing inflammation and pain, and compression by encouraging lymphatic/venous return.
Both would be very useful after extreme efforts, such as IM, where there is lots of inflammation and edema. I would assume both would be most beneficial in the first 3-5 days following the trauma of a race or hard training.
If you had to choose one, from a training perspective, when the trauma is not as significant as a full IM, which is more advantageous? More frequent ice baths, or compression? I'm guessing that since edema is unlikely during training, that ice would be the more applicable therapy (choosing only one).
They obviously work by different means - ice by decreasing inflammation and pain, and compression by encouraging lymphatic/venous return.
Both would be very useful after extreme efforts, such as IM, where there is lots of inflammation and edema. I would assume both would be most beneficial in the first 3-5 days following the trauma of a race or hard training.
If you had to choose one, from a training perspective, when the trauma is not as significant as a full IM, which is more advantageous? More frequent ice baths, or compression? I'm guessing that since edema is unlikely during training, that ice would be the more applicable therapy (choosing only one).