Moist heat or heat pads work best when used for 15 minutes on at a time and at least 30 minutes off. As an example, heat helps to ease back muscle spasms – as long as the spasms are not caused by a new fall or injury. By controlling inflammation, symptoms often resolve or improve and pain subsides. Icing for 20 minutes several times a day can work as well as, if not better than, oral medications and injections. The body continues to go through a cycle of increased inflammation even though it cannot heal these conditions on its own. The suggested time for icing is 20 minutes on and at least 30 minutes off.Īlthough many articles and studies may say that heat should be used for injuries and pain that have lingered for longer than six weeks, this is not necessarily the case.įor conditions such as chronic tendonitis and osteoarthritis, the body thinks that it can heal the worn or injured area. Studies have also shown 30 to 40 minutes in between icing sessions are needed to counter this reaction. Greater than 20 minutes of icing can cause reactive vasodilation, or widening, of the vessels as the body tries to make sure the tissues get the blood supply they need.
#Icycle on thin ice level 19 skin#
Put at least a thin towel between the ice and skin to avoid burned skin. Some people have cold allergies, which cause ice to burn the skin. You should ice with a cold compress or ice pack that is the temperature of a melting ice cube. Medical studies agree that 20 minutes of icing is most effective. Heat dilates, or widens blood vessels, allowing more inflammation to flow to an injured or painful area.Īs a general rule of thumb, ice should be used if you have recently injured an area or had surgery or a procedure. Constricting blood vessels inhibits the body from allowing inflammation in the iced area. Ice constricts, or narrows, blood vessels. Although heat initially feels warm and cozy, ice helps decrease pain and inflammation in the long run. Ice ( cryotherapy) beats heat ( thermotherapy) for treating pain and inflammation in most circumstances. Inflammation can also result from irritation in an area of the body’s tissue, such as a hangnail.ĭepending on the nature and severity of the injury, in orthopedics, we treat inflammation using anti-inflammatory medication, elevation of injury, massage, cortisone injections, compression and rest. The ankle swells when it’s sprained because the body sends inflammation and increased fluid to the wounded area. It’s this pressure that causes you to feel pain.Ī good example is an ankle sprain. When an area on your body is inflamed, fluid (“water on a joint”) and/or irritation cause pressure in the area. As much as it might hurt, swollen and inflamed tissue contains the components of healing that your body uses to repair itself after an injury.
Inflammation and pain is the body’s natural reaction to an injury. To ease that pain, is it better to use ice or heat?
The resulting pain can have a big impact on your daily life. Almost all of us, at some point, will strain or irritate a muscle or ligament.
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