Slushing is an extremely effective way of healing almost any sort of injury. The basic idea is that if you make a body part cold, blood will flow to that area to try and warm it up. Notice how your nose and ears turn red outside when it's cold. This is because of the increased blood flow to that area. One of the side effects of increased blood flow is that things heal faster since now protein and all that other good stuff is flowing to that part of the body. One of the best ways to apply cold to a part of your body is to stick that part of your body in a bucket full of ice and water. It will heal things much much faster, and many track athletes and other people who run a lot swear by it as a method to avoid shin splints. Of course, the downside to this method is that for it to be effective you have to do it at least once a day for 15 minutes or so a day, and that means sticking a part of your body in ice water, which is not the least bit pleasant, I can assure you. On the plus side, it only burns for about 5 minutes, and then you're just numb. In the training room where I go to school, they have neoprene booties which slide over your toes so that if you are slushing your legs your toes at least stay a little bit warmer. At home, I don't have those, so I've tried wrapping athletic tape around my toes, which helps a little.