Should You Ice? I flew back from Vegas yesterday. It is always a pleasure to work with athletes that are motivated and comitted to getting better. I have to admit that the fact that the Olympics are just a few months away is a strong motivator in itself. I often get asked about icing and how it should be done. Let me first tell you that just about everybody at the elitelevel uses ice as a prevention mechanism. In other words, they use ice even when someone is not injuredto decrease potential swelling that comes from heavily usingone body part. Some people do question its effectiveness. However, one thingthat you should know: ice will not hurt you. In other words,it's more likely to help you than not. What you should ice? 1) Body parts that are fragile (previously injured or injured) 2) Body parts that were heavily used (arm, shoulder, knee, etc.) Who should ice? 1) Pitchers for sure. 2) Anybody else that has used a body part extensively. When should you ice? 1) After practice 2) After games 3) Even after workouts. How should you ice? - You apply ice for 20 minutes. If you play several games in one day, don't ice unless you havemore than 3-4 hours in between. If you have less than 3 hoursbetween games, you should not ice. Play hard. Marc Dagenais"Your Personal Softball Peak Performance Coach" For more tips, go to my website: [http://www.softballperformance.com|http://www.softballperformance.com/]