What? LOL. If you move about at all, an injury might happen. So you're likely quite familiar with the acronym R.I.C.E.: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Maybe you twisted your ankle a bit and it's tender and slightly swollen. You know to put a bag of frozen veggies on it, rest it a while atop a pillow, and maybe wrap it with a bandage if necessary. This process has always seemed to work well in the past.
But now, the medical community thinks P.E.A.C.E. and L.O.V.E. might be a better alternative, depending on the nature of your injury. Here's the breakdown. P.E.A.C.E. is what to follow in the first couple of days after an injury: P= protect by reducing, but not avoiding, activity
E= elevate slightly above the heart, like usual, during resting periods A= adjust anti-inflammatory medication to the bare minimum so the body's natural immune system takes over C= compress the area with an elastic bandage E= educate yourself about active recovery methods and if they're appropriate for your condition Then, you progress to L.O.V.E. L= load activity as needed and as pain tolerance allows O= optimism about your ability to heal and return to normal activity (mind over matter, if you will) V= vascularization—increase blood flow to the area with stretches, short walks, yoga, and other movement that you can handle E= exercise—kind of repeats the points of active recovery and vascularization
This dual approach is more specific to soft tissue injuries and, highly important to note, the severity of your condition. But there's a lot of new science worth looking into and, if you need a medical exam, talking with your provider about it.
So if you have aches and pains after yoga, should you ice afterward? Well, it depends. Some research points to heat being more effective, especially for muscular issues, as you want to increase blood flow and oxygen to the affected area. But if you twisted your ankle, icing is probably helpful immediately afterward for the next 12 hours or so (remember, 20 minutes on ice, 20 minutes off, and so on), then advance to the P.E.A.C.E. and L.O.V.E. protocol.
Curious? Here are some more sources:
(Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash)