Ice or Heat- Which is best to use?
One of the life’s many certainties is that at some stage you will likely suffer an injury or two along the way.
You can suffer from a wide range of things, such as joint restrictions, muscle spasms, sprains, and strains, even broken bones. Hopefully, you can avoid a serious injury, however it’s the little things that happen, often in our daily activities that can often lead to much larger problems.
Frequent Chiropractic care is one great way you can help to stay healthy but understanding how and when to use ice and heat for your injuries is one of the most important things you can learn and implement. Here’s a quick breakdown of when ice is going to be best or when you should put some heat on it.
Ice: When You Should Use It
If you’ve ever sprained an ankle, slipped, and fallen, or been flattened during a sporting activity, then you have probably applied ice to your injury – as you should have. Ice is best used in situations where it’s important to control inflammation of the tissue to reduce tissue damage and keep your pain levels in check straight away
The sooner you can apply ice to an injury the better, but you have about a 24-hour window to get ice on it. Apply ice to the injured area for 15 minutes, then take it off for 30 minutes, making sure to use something to protect your skin from the cold, such as a towel. Icing an injury isn’t always going to be comfortable, but you’ve got to get through the cold and burning stages of ice application to reach the numbness stage – where you want to be!
Heat: When to Use It
Applying heat when you should be applying ice can make your injury worse, which is why it’s important to understand when you should be applying ice versus heat.
When you suffer a traumatic injury, the body tries to protect itself by creating inflammation to help it heal. You will often notice the area to be hot from the inflammation, so applying heat to it is not a great idea. In fact, it will increase the inflammation and may lead to more tissue damage.
You should use heat when you feel stiff, and you feel like you want to stretch a muscle but stretching doesn’t help to bring relief. Heat will relax the tissue and help bring blood to the area to help combat the feeling of tightness and stiffness. Moist heat is going to be your best bet, so try a hot water bottle or a hot shower to help bring you some relief. Pro tip: Applying heat after a chiropractic adjustment will probably help you feel fantastic!
If you need more clarification about when heat or ice would be the most beneficial, discuss it with Dr Chris during your next visit to clinic, or if you are a new patient, feel free to contact us on 02920 235596 or chris@chrisrosschiropractic.co.uk or use the contact details on the website.