Ice is the traditional treatment for nursing injuries back to health. It works by reducing swelling, which allows muscles and connective tissue to repair themselves more quickly. That means ice won't do much for things that are broken or bleeding, except purvide a bit of pain relief. Ice can be administered in ice packs or in pools of almost freezing water. A great treatment for shin splints is to rub up and down the soft part of the shin (front, outside) with an ice cube until it melts. This both administers the cold and gives an easy massage.

A variation that seems to effective for many is to alternate ice with heat.