Cold Gel Might Be a Good Alternative to Ice

What do you do when you sprain your ankle? You put an ice pack on it. Jam your finger? Ice it. Overuse your elbow? Ice.

The cold of an ice pack reduces swelling and pain in the injured area. But ice packs can be inconvenient to use. You have to hold the ice pack on the area for up to 20 minutes. And ice can sometimes make the skin too cold, causing discomfort or even frostbite. And some people just can't handle the cold of an ice pack.

That's where this cold gel comes in. The gel uses menthol and ethanol to give a cold effect. These researchers studied using the gel for soft tissue injuries such as sprains. Half of 74 injured patients were given the gel. They rubbed the gel on the injury four times a day for two weeks. The other half of the patients had no treatment other than anti-inflammatory drugs as needed.

The two groups were checked one week, two weeks, and four weeks after the injury. Both groups improved over the four weeks. But the gel group had less pain and better function. The gel group was also happier with their treatment.

So the cold gel looks promising as a convenient treatment for minor injuries. The next step is to test the gel against ice packs.