Hopefully you read about “Why To Ice” so that you’re convinced to plow forward and just put the cold stuff on you, no matter how uncomfortable it sounds. Actually, if you’re one of those people who cringe at the thought of ice or find yourself living in an Arctic winter, you can always use a heat pack somewhere else on your body or sit in the bath or jump in a hot tub at the same time you’re icing, just to take your mind off the area you’re icing.

So here’s how to do it:

Pick your favorite form of ice (or the least obnoxious). Choose ice cubes or crushed ice in a bag, flexible cryotherapy packs, blue gel packs, or even frozen peas. Basically, if it stays cold for 20 minutes, or so, then go ahead and use it. You can apply ice to your disgruntled body part every few hours for 20-30 minutes at a time. Expect to feel a cold sensation first, then burning, then aching, and lastly numbness. Doesn’t that sound fun? Yes, it works. Really, really. Remove the ice once you’ve reached the stage of numbness or you’ll start to get frostbite which would give you a whole new something to complain about.