When to Apply Heat and Ice Packs
I find that a lot of people get confused about when to use heat and when to use cold for musculoskeletal problems. They get it wrong. Here’s a simple explanation on how to use the two.
The body is always trying to maintain it’s core temperature, so in cold areas it shunts blood away. If there is less blood in an area, then there is less fluid. If there is less fluid, then there is less inflammation.
This means that cold packs are used to reduce inflammation.
Heat does the opposite. A heat pack causes more blood to flow into an area. A good blood flow causes muscles to relax and toxin build-ups, like lactic acid, to be flushed away.
This means that hot packs are used to soothe muscle aches.
With heat, you need to be careful as it can exacerbate inflammation. When more blood comes into the area, this creates more fluid and inflammation.
To summarise: ice packs are good for inflammation and heat packs are good for muscle aches.
It’s not easy sometimes to know if a pain is caused from inflammation or a muscle ache, especially when it’s in the spinal region.
Generally:
- If you touch an inflamed spot, the sensation will be often tender, painful and sharp.
- If you touch an aching muscle, it will often be restrictive and tight as a result of overworked muscles, and the sensation will be more of a dull pain.
If you are in doubt about whether your pain is as a result of inflammation or a muscle ache, or both, it’s best to use an ice pack or nothing.
How to Apply Heat and Cold
Using a reusable, blue gel pack is the perfect way to apply heat and cold, as they hold their temperature well. They can be put in the freezer or microwave. The best ones are the ones that are quite flexible when frozen. Do not apply the gel pack, whether it be hot or cold, straight on the skin. Use a protective light cloth, like a t-shirt, chux or thin tea towel. If you need a cold pack and you don’t have a gel pack, use ice cubes or a bag of frozen peas. Just don’t eat the peas afterwards!
The important thing to remember here is, application time.
The safest application time for ice is: 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off, 10 minutes on again. Repeat this 2 – 3 times a day, in a row. If something is very inflamed, you can use ice on it several times per day, however, NEVER apply ice more than 10 minutes at a time. Icing for too long at once, like 20 minutes or more, will have the opposite effect.
For heat, often one application of 15 minutes is enough. A hot bath can be better if you are sure you have a muscle ache. For instance, if you know you did a bit more exercise than normal yesterday and now you find you have tight, stiff gluteal muscles, then this would respond well to a hot bath.
When NOT to Use a Heat and Ice Pack
DO NOT use a heat and ice pack with the following conditions:
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Poor circulation or vascular conditions
- Infection
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Diabetes
- Damaged skin or skin conditions
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