Heat or Ice, What Gives?

When you sustain an injury, such as a sprain (a tear in a ligament, graded 1, 2, or 3) or a strain (a tear in a muscle or tendon, also graded on a 1, 2, or 3 base), the first thing that comes to mind is to throw some ice on it. Turns out the old myth is true, within the first 48 hours, or the acute stage of the injury, you should not use heat at all, only ice. After those 48 hours are up, you can start heating as well as icing.

So, how do you choose which one to use? There are a few differences that can help people decipher which one to use. First lets start with heat. a heating pack has many different forms and can be made at home with nothing more than a sock and dry rice. throw the rice inside a sock and microwave it for 2-3 minutes and you have a heating pack! Just be sure to close the ankle of the sock so it does not fall out and potentially burn your skin. it also can be soaked in a Hydrocollator. A Hydrocollator is a metal container that is filled with water and heated at the bottom through a coil. It holds water and heats it up to 160 degrees on most of them. next, hot packs filled with a sandy, spongy substance that will absorb the heated water and have the same level of heat as your rice filled sock, but last for much longer. What heating does for the body is it draws more blood to the area with heat on it, warming up tissues and preparing them for movement. That does not replace a good, active warm up, it is an accessory to the warm up. I recommend using heat before workouts or before your day to make you feel looser and relieve the pain of tight muscles.

Now onto Ice. Me personally, I am an Ice person, if my knees hurt or my back hurts I will throw ice on an area before I put some heat on it. Partly due to my tolerance of the cold better than the heat. Ice can be in many forms, as ice cubes in a bag, a one time use ice pack where you need to pop a chemical solution that makes a reaction of cold, or reusable ice packs that you stick in the freezer. What ice does is the opposite of heat essentially, it draws blood away from the body part, which may sound bad but when there is inflammation in the muscles ice helps to relieve it, it also draws away swelling and also decreases pain. Ice is best used after exercise or at the end of the day because it does make muscles and joints tighten up due to the cold.

So, which one do I use? It depends on what kind of injury and personal preference for the most part. I recommend for injuries like a sprained ankle, pulled muscle (hamstring, calf, quad etc.) to use ice in the beginning phases as well as down the road, it really helps with the healing process and will nullify some of the pain. For injuries such as a sore back, or injuries to the neck resulting from posture, I recommend heat. Since there is most likely no inflammation present and it stems from poor posture and tight muscles, heat will loosen them up and make you feel better. Using this guide, you can go about experimenting and trying out different options.

Of course, getting a massage or going in for PT will definitely help manage your pain!

Thank you for reading this article! Please if you have any questions regarding this subject or anything related to this subject, leave a comment down below and I will absolutely give you my input!

Happy Steeming!
-Tim