Ice vs.. Heat: What would Goldilocks do? By Pete Schultz, PT
Winter season is upon us, which means we'll soon see snowy and icy walking conditions. A slip or fall could mean an unexpected injury. Although we'd like to focus these articles to keeping you injury-free, sometimes things happen.
And we're often asked, "What should I do? Should I use ice or heat to treat my injury?" Well, in this months article Pete answers when to use ice and when to use heat.
Remember Goldilocks? Some things were too cold. Some too hot. But when it comes to an injury, which is just right?
Here's a quick and simple method to know which you should use:
If there's swelling and you feel pain, use ice.
If there's no swelling and just stiffness, use heat.
Let's take an in-depth look at why we use one over the other.
Why do you use ice? Let's say you're running on the treadmill and you misstep twisting your ankle. Ouch! First comes the pain and the swelling's not too far behind. You'll want to reduce both, pronto. And that's just what ice does.
The cold reduces the size of the blood vessels in the injured area to bring down the swelling. Then it also numbs the area to reduce your pain.
It's the same reason we use ice after you receive treatment. Since we're working on a compromised body part, things get a bit aggravated. The ice reduces the swelling and helps you feel better.
Some things to keep in mind when you use ice:
Avoid a burn: Never put ice directly on your skin. Use a towel or something similar between the ice and your skin.
Use the R.I.C.E. method: Rest the injured area. Ice the injured area. Compress the injured area using an ACE bandage or wrap of some sort. Elevate to reduce the blood flow to the injured area.
Keep the ice on the injured area for 10 to 20 minutes
How often you ice depends on your level of activity. If you're resting at home and the swelling is low you won't need to ice as frequently as when you're walking on an injured ankle. Any time you do anything to aggravate the injury you should ice it.
Now what about that heat? If you wake up with a stiff neck and can barely turn your head, there's a situation you'd want to use heat. When you have limited flexibility or your muscles feel very tight, heat is the way to go. Heat is generally used in situations where you didn't just injure yourself. If it's a new injury with swelling, default to ice.
Why we don't usually recommend the use of heat? Simply because over the counter products such as heating pads, rubs and stick on fixes only reach the problem on a superficial level. These products don't penetrate the muscle deep enough to help the problem.
These products are fine if you're just hoping to loosen up a bit. Or if you want to relieve some stress and relax your body. It's great before bed or if you just want to calm down a bit. A hot bath or shower sounds good right about now, doesn't it?
How long should you use heat? The guidelines are the same as ice. Ten to 20 minutes should do the trick. Check your local pharmacy for a selection of options for home use.
What if superficial heat doesn't relieve your problem? You may need to get deeper into the muscle with ultrasound. We use ultrasound as part of your treatments to get to the source of the stiffness. Ultrasound zeroes in on the stiff area and loosens up the muscle or joints. Ultrasound helps with stiff shoulders, hips and joints to name a few.
So there you have it. Use ice when there's swelling and pain. Use heat for general relaxation or stiffness.
For deeper muscle and joint work give us a call. We'll be happy to give you some more information.
Now next time you're wondering what to use, ice or heat, you can skip the trial and error process that Goldilocks uses and choose the treatment that's just right.
