For cold therapy, or cryotherapy, a water bottle filled with cold water, a pad cooled in the freezer, or cool water can be used. In some cases, alternating heat and cold may help, as it will greatly increase blood flow to the injury site.
Cold treatment reduces blood flow to an injured area. This slows the rate of inflammation and reduces the risk of swelling and tissue damage. It also numbs sore tissues, acting as a local anesthetic, and slows down the pain messages being transmitted to the brain. Ice can help treat a swollen and inflamed joint or muscle. It is most effective within 48 hours of an injury. Rest, ice, compression and elevation RICE are part of the standard treatment for sports injuries. In the case of an ice massage, ice can be applied directly to the skin, because it does not stay in one place.
Ice should not be applied directly to the bony portions of the spinal column. A cold compress can be made by filling a plastic bag with frozen vegetables or ice and wrapping it in a dry cloth. A cold mask or wrap around the forehead may help reduce the pain of a migraine. For osteoarthritis, patients are advised to use an ice massage or apply a cold pad 10 minutes on and 10 minutes off. It should not be applied directly to the skin, as this can freeze and damage body tissues, possibly leading to frostbite.
Professional athletes may use ice massage, cold water immersion, and whole-body cryotherapy chambers to reduce exercise-induced muscle damage EIMD that can lead to delayed onset muscle soreness DOMS.
DOMS commonly emerges 24 to 48 hours after exercise. A study published in The Cochrane Library in suggested that a cold bath after exercise may help prevent DOMS, compared with resting or doing nothing. The participants spent between 5 and 24 minutes in water between 50 and 59 degrees Fahrenheit, or 10 to 15 degrees Celsius. However, the researchers were not certain whether there may be negative side effects, or if another strategy might be more helpful. It may be less helpful for back pain , possibly because the injury is not new, or because the problem tissue, if it is inflamed, lies deep beneath other tissues and far from the cold press.
The tricky part is knowing what situations calls for hot, and which calls for cold. Sometimes a single treatment will even include both.
As a general rule of thumb, use ice for acute injuries or pain, along with inflammation and swelling. Use heat for muscle pain or stiffness. Heat therapy works by improving circulation and blood flow to a particular area due to increased temperature. Increasing the temperature of the afflicted area even slightly can soothe discomfort and increase muscle flexibility. Heat therapy can relax and soothe muscles and heal damaged tissue.
There are two different types of heat therapy: dry heat and moist heat. Professional heat therapy treatments can also be applied. Heat from an ultrasound, for example, can be used to help pain in tendonitis. When applying heat therapy, you can choose to use local, regional, or whole body treatment. Local therapy is best for small areas of pain, like one stiff muscle. You could use small heated gel packs or a hot water bottle if you only want to treat an injury locally.
Regional treatment is best for more widespread pain or stiffness, and could be achieved with a steamed towel, large heating pad, or heat wraps.
Full body treatment would include options like saunas or a hot bath. There are certain cases where heat therapy should not be used. If the area in question is either bruised or swollen or both , it may be better to use cold therapy. People with certain pre-existing conditions should not use heat therapy due to higher risk of burns or complications due to heat application. How Does Heat Help You? By increasing tissue elasticity, heat reduces your resting muscle tension and helps to relax those nasty painful knots.
Your pain quickly eases via the sedation and soothing of any pain-irritated nerve endings. The profound heating increases your blood flow to the painful area, bringing more nutrients to the injured area while flushing out the damaged debris. This flush-out helps to quicken your healing rate.
Applying cold is helpful when you want to reduce swelling, inflammation and pain. It can also reduce painful muscle spasms. Be sure to immediately ice a new injury to keep swelling in check and reduce the pain of pressure on the injury.
Use an ice pack, a frozen towel, or, even a bag of frozen vegetables - peas and corn work great. Keep the ice on up to 20 minutes at a time, using a towel to avoid direct contact between the ice pack and your skin. Let the area get numb, wait and hour and then you can reapply the cold pack, if necessary. Ice should only be used up to three days following injury.
After that, you might want to check-in with your doctor. Ice application to an acute injury is generally safe.
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