For years people have been advised to put ice on torn, bruised and sprained muscles in an effort to reduce the swelling, but new research has found that it could actually slow down the healing process.

This discovery will be of interest to those working in physiotherapy jobs and could even lead to new therapies for acute muscle injuries, which often lead to inflammation. The study, which was published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology journal, suggests muscle inflammation after an acute injury is essential to repair.

During the study scientists studied two groups of mice. The first group was genetically altered so they could not form an inflammatory response to injury and the second group was normal. All of the mice were injected with barium chloride to cause muscle injury, but it was found that whilst the first group of mice did not heal, the bodies of the second group repaired the injury.

The scientists found that the inflamed cells caused a higher level of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) to be produced. This increased the rate of regeneration within the muscle's tissue.

Gerald Weissman, editor of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology journal, told The Daily Telegraph: "For wounds to heal we need controlled inflammation, not too much and not too little. It's been known for a long time that excess anti-inflammatory medication such as cortisone, slows wound healing."

"This study goes a long way to telling us why- insulin like growth factor and other materials released by inflammatory cells helps wounds to heal."