ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal®: January – February 2023 | The PRICE of Injury Treatment: Out With the Old and In With the New
1 CEC
By Cal Busby, ATC, MAT
Rest, ice, compression, elevation (RICE) and protection, rest, ice, compression, elevation (PRICE) have long been the go-to answer for many in the sports medicine world when confronted with an acute soft tissue injury. However, in 2013, a new model was proposed by researchers that presented a paradigm shift in how to harness the benefits of cryotherapy and aims to change how soft tissue injuries are typically treated in the fitness and sporting industries. This new acronym and approach—POLICE—stands for protection, optimal loading, ice, compression, and elevation. Although not a complete transformation from the traditional previous regimens of RICE or PRICE, POLICE takes into account methods supported from the literature and calls for the design of treatment and rehabilitation plans that are injury-, sport-, and even activity level-specific.
