Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
February 28, 2007
To Ice or Not to Ice?

Tim Lincecum never ices his arm.

"I don't have any pain," said Lincecum, whose nine-pitch perfect inning was the highlight of Tuesday's intrasquad game. "Ice would just make me stiffer. I just stretch to keep loose, keep limber."

Lincecum is a rare breed. Giants trainer Dave Groeschner estimated that less than 10 percent of pitchers decline to ice. Giants left-hander Steve Kline is among the minority who don't wrap their arms after throwing. The same was true of former big-league right-hander Paul Quantrill.

It's no coincidence that Quantrill and Kline often battled each other for the major-league lead in appearances.

I'm curious as to what medical professionals think about this. Is icing a good thing, or is Lincecum right about it causing more stiffness?


Posted by David Pinto at 10:50 AM | Pitchers | TrackBack (0)
Comments

I recall a Cubs journeyman (either Fassero or Terry Muholland) saying they never iced since it didn't make sense. In his opinion, icing inhibited blood flow, which would be counter-productive to rapid recovery of strength.
I'm not sure that's a real, um, sophisticated point of view, but, it doesn't sound nuts.
Is there a Dr. in the blog?

Posted by: Harry at February 28, 2007 11:42 AM

Well, treatments on the numerous sprained ankles I've had have always been ice in the early stages (1 to 2 days after the injury) and then moist heat long-term to continue to reduce the swelling and promote recovery. Icing is the recommended treatment for repetitive stress injuries (of which throwing a baseball 60 to 100+ times over a few hours would seem to be).

Icing does inhibit blood flow, the point of that is to reduce swelling. For RSI, you might not have too much inflammation, so a short bit of icing might be called for, but then apply moist heat. Icy Hot, anyone?

Posted by: John in Austin at February 28, 2007 12:08 PM

Ice is good for two things........Injuries and my drinks!!

Posted by: Cra at February 28, 2007 12:31 PM

Some pitchers ice their arms after throwing. Other use heat. Well, I've got the perfect solution.

Hot. Ice.

Posted by: Joseph P. at February 28, 2007 01:19 PM

It should be added that Tim is quite young, and his feelings about ice may change quite a bit in five or ten years. Ken Griffey Jr. rarely even stretched when he was a youngster, but I'd imagine that he spends a bit more time in prep now that he's an older guy.

Posted by: michael at February 28, 2007 01:33 PM

Michael, I think that's the key. Not speaking for Mulholland or Fassero, both of whom pitched into their 40's, but quicker healing promotes longetivity as you are less likely to have scar tissue or tendinitis. I was a trainer in HS (one of THOSE) and that was always what I read was the ultimate reason ice is good.

And for the restricted blood flow point - look we're talking about ice for about an hour or so at most. That's not exactly restricted. Reduce swelling and you've got normal blood flow.

Everyone's different, though. They're major league pitchers and I only stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, so what the heck do I know?

Posted by: PatH at February 28, 2007 02:28 PM

I appreciate the Daniel Stern ROTY reference above. Funky butt loving indeed.

Posted by: Kiel at February 28, 2007 02:44 PM

They need to do a study on that.
Icing seems counter-intuitive, but that is not new for baseball.
Heat heals usually better than ice.
I would not be surprised if they found thay had been doing it wrong all these years. It wouldn't be the first time.

Posted by: Walter Guest at February 28, 2007 06:50 PM

"I heat up the ice cubes!"

What a classic. I love the part where he gets stuck between the doors for an entire road trip.

Posted by: yankz at February 28, 2007 09:57 PM

I threw for over 40 years and never iced. Never had arm or shoulder problems. If I had an injury I'd ice and only then. Do people work out with weights and such and ice...not likely!!

Posted by: Cra at March 1, 2007 03:40 PM

I threw for over 40 years and never iced. Never had arm or shoulder problems. If I had an injury I'd ice and only then. Do people work out with weights and such and ice...not likely!!

Posted by: Cra at March 1, 2007 03:40 PM

when did icing become the norm? just curious, maybe its part of the reason we dont' see high innings pitched?? (in addition to lifting weights IMO!)

Posted by: boomer at March 1, 2007 05:45 PM

Read a piece by Lincecum's Dad where he says (paraphrasing), "When your willi swells, it's because it filled with blood and it feels good. Do you ice THAT?"

Posted by: Dress Left at March 2, 2007 12:22 PM

Lincecum's curve is the best, behind Oswalt's and Zito's.

Posted by: Beast at June 13, 2007 04:28 PM
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