Want to prevent or treat muscle pain and injuries? Be sure to cool your muscles down
Walking is healthy. It’s good for body and mind alike. Nevertheless, you should take good care of your muscles before, during and after exercise. Small defects and tears in the muscle happen while you’re exercising. This causes fluid to accumulate in the muscle tissue, and that leads to swelling. A little fluid is good, but too much causes tissue damage, injuries and muscle pain. Cooling your body down in time and in the right way will prevent pain and help you recover.
Hans-Peter Brands is director of Ice Power/Medzorg Nederland. As a proud partner of the Four Days Marches, he wants to help walkers prevent pain and recover fast. “It’s a joy and a privilege to help 45,000 walkers complete the Four Days Marches. Our products cool the skin, reduce pain and prevent inflammation. They also stimulate blood flow and increase oxygen intake in the muscles. And that in turn leads to better performance and faster recovery.”
Olympic champion thanks to cooling
Hans-Peter notes that pain relief through cooling has become more common only in recent years. “Nowadays, many walkers and other sportspeople put their legs under a cold shower after their activity to prevent injuries and muscle pain. However, the history of cold muscle-care products is not that old at all. It was only when hockey coach Mark Lammers started using cold-water baths and cooling-down vests during the 2008 Olympics that cooling muscles down became popular in the Netherlands. The Dutch women’s hockey team became Olympic champions that year. Lammers copied the cooling process from Dutch dressage champion Anky van Grunsven, who had been cooling her horses’ muscles for some time. He brought the same idea over to hockey.”
Women’s Power Team
Next year, Ice Power will not only be at the start and finish location with their large stand - they will also have a team at the start on De Wedren: the Women’s Power team. Hans-Peter says: “We are not just going to be a proud partner in the coming years, we’re also going to be taking part with gusto. On behalf of our organisation, a group of really athletic women will be taking part in various walking events. During the Four Days Marches, members of the Women’s Power Team will walk 50 kilometres instead of the usual 40.” One of the team members is Karen Nabuurs. “In 2020 and this year, I already wanted to walk with the members of the Women’s Power Team. I’ve already walked the Four Days Marches 29 times, often together with my sister. Since she’s no longer taking part, I was looking for some other motivation to keep walking. I like to participate in the 50 kilometres to prove that women are just as strong as men. And that’s how I ended up with the Women’s Power Team. Karen continues: “Together we walk at several events, always carrying Ice Power spray in our pockets, so that we can help other walkers on the way to the finish. Some of the women will also participate in The Alternative Four Days Marches this year. It’s a really nice initiative, although I hope to walk with the Women’s Power Team as a group in Nijmegen next year.”
Applying Ice Power to your skin before, during and after exercise provides pain relief and enables faster recovery of the muscles. What’s more, Ice Power products contain only natural substances such as menthol and eucalyptus. They do not contain camphor, ibuprofen or diclofenac, so you can use them more than three to four times a day and can combine them with medicines. Director Hans-Peter Brands says: “Our products are increasingly being used for more than just muscles. They also work for colds, growing pains, headaches, heat rashes, itching and for sore feet, calves and shins. I’d even say they work well for everyone.”
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