Heat vs. Cold?

LittleC started this discussion · 11/1/2009

My upper back and shoulders get sore a lot from all the pole practicing I've been doing, and my chiropractor told me I need to lay on ice packs in order to soothe the muscles. I also like to get in the hot tub or take a hot bath to try to relieve the aches and pains - I never know when to do ice, and when to do heat. How do you know which to do? I don't want to make things worse, and sometimes heat makes me feel better - sometimes the ice does. Is the heat for chronic tenseness of the muscles, and the ice for injury? Help! 🤔 Thank you in advance for your bright ideas! 🙂

2 replies

azzwoo · 11/1/2009
We use a lot of ice on our ortho ward. Use ice for any injury to help take down swelling and relieve pain. Use heat for any muscular ache/ before/ after stretching. We were also taught that you can use ice and heat together 5 mins with one, then 5 mins with the other exchanged for 20 mins bbut I have never really done this. Basically you don't want to be putting heat on anything that has he potential to become inflamed (which is what happens post injury) as it will increase the blood flow and increase the inflammation. When you apply ice, for it to be effective leave it on for a minimum of 20 mins. Also never place it directly onto the skin, always put a layer such as a paper towel in first or you risk ice burns.
LittleC · 11/2/2009
Thanks, Azzwoo - I knew a professional would have some insight for me. 🙂