Heat Therapy vs Ice Therapy for Musculoskeletal Conditions
When to use ice and when to use heat!
If you have ever experienced a sore back at the end of a busy day or twisted your ankle, you’ve likely heard advice like “put ice on it!” or “soak in a nice hot bath!” from a loved one. Many patients express confusion about when to use heat and when to use ice and in the worst of cases using the wrong one can make the pain worse. So, I thought it a good idea to write this short article to explain when and why to use heat or ice.
When it comes to musculoskeletal pain both ice and heat can be very useful. Both have their unique benefits and are used for different purposes. They are simple yet powerful tools in the pain management toolkit. Let’s look at heat first.
Understanding Heat Therapy
Heat therapy, or thermotherapy, works due to a range of physiological processes. Most notably is that heat causes the small blood vessels to dilate, thereby increasing the blood flow to the affected area. It also boosts the metabolism of the tissue and causes muscles to relax.
Heat therapy is typically best used to alleviate the symptoms of chronic conditions such as osteoarthritis or fibromyalgia, and to alleviate muscle tension and stiffness.
There are methods to apply heat therapy, these include:
Hot baths
Hot water bottles
Heat patches
Saunas
Jacuzzis/Hot tubs
Steam rooms
Heat packs
Microwavable wheat bags
Electric blankets
When using heat, ensure the temperature is not too high and limit the duration to around 15-20 minutes to avoid burning the skin. It’s important to note that heat should be a tool, not a crutch! If you find it hard to get by without it, contact a healthcare provider (such as your chiropractor) to address the root cause. Chronic heat use can cause long-term skin damage.
Understanding Ice Therapy
While heat therapy causes the increase of blood flow the area, ice therapy (or cryotherapy) does the opposite. Ice therapy causes the constriction of the small blood vessels and thereby reduces blood flow. You may be wondering why that is useful! Well, this can significantly reduce inflammation caused by tissue damage and provides a numbing effect.
Ice therapy is best used to provide relief for:
Acute inflammatory conditions, such as muscle sprains or ankle inversion strains.
Chronic inflammatory conditions such as tennis elbow or plantar fasciitis.
After exercise to reduce inflammation
Methods to apply cryotherapy include icepacks and cold compresses. Gel icepacks are particularly useful as they can be moulded around the affected area, but a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a dish towel can work just as well. There are also creams that you can use which trick the skin into feeling cold which can have similar effects.
As with heat therapy, it is best to keep skin contact to ice therapy to around 15 minutes to avoid frostbite.
In summary
Both heat and ice can relieve pain, but choosing the right one for the condition is crucial. Generally speaking, if you are unsure which to use, try ice first. If you apply heat to something generating inflammation, you could worsen the inflammation and associated pain—something I have seen in the clinic many times! Conversely, if you use ice on a condition better suited for heat, the worst that can happen is it being ineffective.
If you have been using heat or ice and are struggling to manage the problem, consider booking an appointment at Shield Chiropractic to get to the root cause. We are here to help!
