Abstract
Objective
To determine the effect of quantity of ice and contact area on ice pack/skin interface temperature during a 20-minute cooling period.
Design
Repeated measures.
Setting
Laboratory setting in an educational institution.
Participants
Twenty healthy males aged between 18 and 22 years.
Interventions
An ice pack was applied to the right thigh with compression using an elastic bandage. The effects of three packs measuring 18
cm×23cm containing 0.3, 0.6 and 0.8kg of ice, and one pack measuring 20cm×25cm containing 0.6kg of ice were compared.
Main outcome measure
The reduction in temperature at the ice pack/skin interface during 20-minute ice applications was monitored at 1-minute intervals.
Results
The application of 0.8-kg and 0.6-kg ice packs led to a significantly greater decrease in the interface temperature compared with the 0.3-kg ice pack [0.8kg vs. 0.3kg: −2.35°C, 95% confidence interval (CI) of the difference −3.36 to −1.34°C; 0.6kg vs. 0.3kg: −2.95°C, 95% CI −4.07 to −1.83°C]. No significant difference in temperature was found between the 0.6-kg and 0.8-kg ice packs (0.8kg vs. 0.6kg: 0.6°C, 95% CI −0.12 to 1.32°C, P>0.05). The size of the contact area did not alter the degree of cooling significantly (difference between smaller and larger pack: 0.05°C, 95% CI −0.93 to 1.03°C, P>0.05). The lowest temperature during ice application was reached after 8–9minutes of cooling.
Conclusion
Application of an ice pack containing at least 0.6kg of ice leads to a greater magnitude of cooling compared with application of a 0.3-kg ice pack, regardless of the size of the contact area. Thus, clinicians should consider using ice packs weighing at least 0.6kg for cold treatment.
Citation
The effect of quantity of ice and size of contact area on ice pack/skin interface temperature
Prawit Janwantanakul
Physiotherapy - June 2009 (Vol. 95, Issue 2, Pages 120-125, DOI: 10.1016/j.physio.2009.01.004)