system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: If our body's natural reaction to an inury is to enflame and increase bloodflow, why do we ice it to do just the opposite?

Doesn't our body know what is best?
gpt
Because we have the luxury of resting.

When your distant ancestors twisted they ankle, they still had to forage or hunt or ward off attackers or walk 5 miles back to camp.  Inflammation was like putting an ace bandage on it, allowing some functionality while reducing the chance of further injury.

Today we can just reduce our activity level, with little chance of starving to death because of it.