My frozen buttsicle

Ahhhhhh! The healing power of ice. Almost two years ago I was involved in a really dumb auto accident, and life has been quite weird since. Lots of treatment, lots of shots, and lots of other strange efforts to cure what is simply diagnosed as a chronic muscle spasm in my low back. It's often crippling, but certain treatments seem to help for short periods of time. The last treatment wore off two days ago, and I've been left in pain once again. Today I decided that I had to do something, and apparently freezing my butt off... literally....was worth the try.

I also broke my right foot this past winter (I sound pretty klutzy right?) Putting my bruised and swollen foot in the ice pool at the fitness center I attend helped relieve a lot of pain. Now, this pool isn't just chilly. It's freaking FREEZING! Close to 30 degrees, I've been told. Painfully freaking freezing. It took every ounce of will I had back then to just keep my little foot in the water. Imagine how I felt today when my husband logically coerced me to go give it a try for my big back! He's crazy.

Now, I'm the girl who grabs a jacket when the temperature drops down to 75 degrees. Born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, I simply don't do cold very well. I knew this ice bath deal was going to kill me. Nonetheless, like a crazy person I drove to my health club purposely to become a member of the Polar Bear Club. Terrified yet hopeful, I kept driving in the right direction. Got in the locker room, and threw on the old bikini. Fun. Fun.

As I walked up to the indoor ice pond, a nice older woman was happily just chilling out in water up to her belly button. I begged her for words of encouragement to help me actually get in. She tells me how it helps her back, and that after a few minutes the water starts to feel warm. Suuuuuure it does! Anyway. My plan is to just charge into the pool and do it, but the second my toes hit the first step I chicken out. I think the feet are the worst part to freeze. So I devised a plan that makes me look like a totally spaz, but will allow me to keep my tootsies out of the snow.

I decide to sit on the first step and then lie back so that only my back is actually in the water. I hold on to one of the rails that help folks into the arctic bath and then just put my feet on the edge. Then to top it off, I had to use my towel as a blanket for the parts of me that were not in the water. I know. I'm more than a dork. What's worse is that I'm sharing this with the 70 zillion people logged on to AOL at the moment. No pride. As I lie there like a possum, several other folks enter the pool. Everyone has a boo boo and everyone seems to experience some level of pain relief as a result of this chilly torture bath. The cool thing about being in the ice tub (as opposed to a hot tub) is that people feel free to chat. I think most us feel creepy chatting others up in the hot tub; as though we're re-enacting a scene from the Bachelor.

Nonetheless. The horrific pain I felt for the first few minutes eventually wore off, and I too felt bizarrely at ease after a while. Unfortunately my pain hasn't gone away yet......I think I'll have to give it a few more tries. But on a nice note, my numb buttsicle seemed to hang around for about an hour. What a delight! Hello to the buddies I made in my local Polar Bear Club. Thanks for not making fun of me as I chilled out like a possum today (at least not to my face).

And to the rest of you with some sort of boo boos...give the hellish ice bath a try. It's honestly worked miracles for me on the breaks and tears in my foot this winter. I've seen folks walk straight in and completely submerge their entire head under water. Almost everyone I've spoken to while freezing my injuries, have seen tremendous benefits as a result of their icy adventures. If you don't have an official ice pool available to you, and your physician thinks it may help.....make your own. Fill your own tub with enough water to suit your needs and dump some ice in it to lower the temperature. I've been told to spend 15 minutes max in the water. It's truly quite painful at first, but I wouldn't have shown up today like a psychopath if it hadn't helped me greatly in the past.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/treatment_room/features/newsid_3097000/3097114.stm