HOT OR COLD FOR PAIN: Should You Use Ice Or Heat For Pain
When Is It Appropriate To Use Ice Or Heat To Treat Pain?
It’s hard to get through life without straining a muscle, spraining a ligament, suffering a headache or wrenching your back. And the longer you’re on the planet, the more susceptible you are to arthritis. When something hurts, will ice or heat make it feel better?
Ø The rule of thumb with a cold is if an area is red, swollen, inflamed, or if it’s an acute injury, meaning an injury that just occurred, we want to cool the area down and prevent any inflammation. It’s generally a topical anti-inflammatory that you are putting on the skin or body part — wherever the injury occurred. It reduces swelling around the injury, bleeding into the tissue, muscle spasms and pain.
Ø You can use heat or cold in alteration. Alternating between applications of ice and heat is called contrasting therapy. It’s extremely stimulating and is mostly used to facilitate injury recovery.
Heating pads and ice packs do not work for the same ailments.
We have compiled a list of the 7 most common forms of pain and which treatment would be ideal for them, heat or ice.
1. Back pain
For chronic back pain, you may think that taking a warm bath would be comforting. But that just leads to inflammation. Instead, you must opt for an ice pack. Experts say that applying an ice pack on the affected area for two to three days can reduce inflammation and pain. However, if you are dealing with chronic back pain, a heating pad would be a better treatment.
2. Menstrual cramps
Menstrual pains can be anything from mild to severe. Medication is not recommended for them. But there is one way of relaxing the muscles of your uterus and improving blood flow in that area, application of a heating pad. You could also try taking a warm water bath for relief.
3. Joint pain
Before you proceed to involve in a rigorous workout, you must heat up your knees and elbows. This is because the joints need to warm up before starting any form of severe workout. However, if you experience pain post-workout, you must go for ice treatment. Do this right after the workout but not for more than 20 minutes. Using heat treatment can lead to muscle soreness and even swelling.
4. Sprained ankle
This one is pretty common. Typically, people recommend heat treatment when you sprain an ankle. But here’s an eye-opener, heating treatment for sprains worsens inflammation. However, ice treatment reduces the swelling and inflammation and controls the discomfort by numbing the affected area.
5. Arthritis
So which one would be more effective for arthritis, heat, ice or both?
In the case of arthritis, you can alternate both treatments. Heat can help in loosening the muscles and in improving blood flow to the affected area. Ice, on the other hand, can help in reducing inflammation and numbing the affected area.
6. Torn ligament
For a torn ligament, use ice treatment, not heat. You can apply an ice pack or go for an ice bath for fifteen minutes after every two to three hours for the first 36 hours. Ice helps in limiting blood flow to the injured area thereby controlling swelling and inflammation. Using heat during this stage can worsen swelling.
7. Headaches
Vascular headaches, including migraines, do better with cold. Cold masks or wraps over the forehead, eyes, and temples help in the throbbing pain of a migraine. On the other hand, a tension headache may benefit from applying heat to tight muscles in the neck or jaw. Heat wraps can halt neck spasms that contribute to headaches.
Risks of heat therapy and When to avoid Heat Therapy.
There are certain cases where heat therapy should not be used. Heat and inflammation are the other particularly bad combination. If you add heat to a fresh injury, mark out: it’s going to get worse. If the area in question is either bruised or swollen (or both), it may be better to use cold therapy.
- These conditions include:
- Diabetes
- Dermatitis
- Vascular Diseases
- Deep Vein Thrombosis
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
If you have either heart disease or hypertension, ask your doctor before using heat therapy. If you are pregnant, check with your doctor before using saunas or hot tubs.
If you use heat that’s too hot, you can burn the skin. If you have an infection and use heat therapy, there is a chance that the heat therapy could increase the risk of the infection spreading. Heat applied directly to a local area, like with heating packs, should not be used for more than 20 minutes at a time.
If you experience increased swelling, stop the treatment immediately. If heat therapy hasn’t helped lessen any pain or discomfort after a week, or the pain increases within a few days, make an appointment to see your doctor.
Risks of Cold Therapy When to avoid Ice Therapy.
You should not use cold therapy on stiff muscles or joints. Ice can aggravate symptoms of tightness and stiffness; it can also just make any pain worse when it’s unwanted. If you’re not careful, cold therapy applied for too long or too directly can result in skin, tissue, or nerve damage.
If you have cardiovascular or heart disease, consult your doctor before using cold therapy. If cold therapy hasn’t helped an injury or swelling within 48 hours, call your doctor.
