Hmmm . . . with regard to ice, in particular, I certainly wouldn't rule out its benefits. About 4 years ago I was racing in a crit here in northern California. A gaggle of us went down all of a sudden (I'll never know exactly what caused the crash) and the back of my neck wound up on somebody's chainring, and as I twisted my body around , a small, crimson version of Old Faithful started to gush skyward. Well, after I got sewn up (with luck, the race was held near a hospital), the Doc told me to put ice packs on my neck if I suffered any inflammation, which I did. If nothing else, it really soothed my injury and served to numb the pain. I'd say this was of some value. The Doc also told me that, in time, my scar would become just an almost imperceptible white line, which it has not!