When to Use Cold or Hot Treatment for an Injury
We see plenty of hurting, so we’re pretty familiar with pain. We know that when you’re in pain – whether from a fresh injury or a long-term issue – you want relief, and you want it quickly. Both cold therapy and hot therapy are useful, but they play different roles in treatment. Read on to find out when and how to use each type of therapy.
Cold Therapy
When to Use It
Cold therapy is good for new injuries. “New” can refer to anything that’s six weeks old or less, but it’s especially effective in the first 48 hours after an injury.
Cold packs should be used for acute injuries like pulled muscles, bursitis, sprains and tendinitis. They can also help relieve a headache, particularly the throbbing type.
How It Works
Cold packs constrict blood vessels, reducing blood flow and chemical reactions in the area. Thus, the swelling and inflammation that happen after an injury are able to go down.
Applying a cold pack will also numb the area. When you’re in pain, numbness provides much-appreciated relief.
How to Use It
For health and wellness after an injury, we recommend applying cold packs to the affected area on and off throughout the day. Leave the ice on for about 20 minutes at a time. Then, reapply within the next couple of hours.
Never allow ice to sit on your skin directly. Instead, wrap an ice pack in a light towel before applying it to your injury. Also, don’t spend the whole 20 minutes of cold therapy with the pack in one place. Move it occasionally to protect the skin.
Hot Therapy
When to Use It
Chronic injuries, including general arthritis discomfort and chronic back pain, benefit from hot therapy. Heat can also be used to treat pain that lingers after sprains and other injuries; just don’t use it until the inflammation stage is over. Finally, put heat on for a headache that is triggered by muscle spasms.
How It Works
Heat relaxes joints and muscles. This provides relief for both stiffness and spasms.
Treating pain also helps bring blood flow to the affected area. In fact, this is why you should not use hot therapy on fresh injuries as it can cause extra inflammation, which is detrimental to recovery.
How to Use It
As with cold, protect your skin by using a towel between yourself and the heating pad. You can also dampen a towel with warm water and use that in place of a heating pad.
Leave the heat on the injury for about 20 minutes. Don’t reapply it until the spot has had a chance to completely cool.
At Simpson Medical, we offer Ice/Heat pain relief services to help you get back to your normal life. Contact us today to learn more.