I've been helping people return to their lives and avoid surgery for over a decade! In all of that time the question I am asked the most is whether or not to use ice or heat over sore areas. I'm putting this information out so you will know what you can do if you have this question.
What Happens When You Hurt Yourself
There are a few things that the body does when you have an injury. The body sends all sorts of products to the injured area.
For example; when you sprain your ankle, it gets bigger or swells up. This is because the body is sending all sorts of things to help heal and repair any damage. These products come to the area through the blood vessels.
The original pain from the injury is telling the body that it needs some help. You need the swelling to heal.
What Ice and Heat Do For You
Ice
Ice does something called vasoconstriction. This means that it narrows the blood vessels in the area. This can stop, or slow, the natural healing and repair process of your body.
Ice also numbs things really well. This can make you feel better and take away some of the pain and symptoms.
Heat
Heat mostly does the opposite of ice and it vasodilates. Heat opens the blood vessels in the area. This can cause increased swelling and may not help you heal faster.
Heat can act as a muscle relaxer and help decrease tissue tension in the area of your injury.
So Which is Best For You?
As with a lot of things, what is best for you will depend on your likes and dislikes. The ideal situation is to let the natural healing process happen. This means to give your body 24-48 hours to respond to an injury.
I know that you may not have time to just sit back and wait for healing to happen. If this is the case then you need to do what is best for you. If using an ice pack a few times a day helps you get through the day because the swelling is decreased and you are more numb around your injury, then do it. If you feel that heat will help you get through the day than use that.
For either one that you choose try not to do more than 15 minutes every couple of hours.
What About RICE?
If you grew up as I did you have heard about, or even followed, the acronym RICE. It stands for:
R - Rest
I - Ice
C - Compress
E - Elevate
In the first day or two following an injury, I recommend to people to follow the Rest, Compress, and Elevate to the best of their abilities. I am asking you to do the same. By eliminating ice from the procedure during the first 24-48 hours, you allow the body to perform its response to injury. After that, if you still have inflammation, then you can try using an ice pack.
Resting will let the tissue calm down and decrease stresses in the area. (This does not mean just sit on the couch, but take it easier than normal)
Compressing will help keep the inflammation and swelling down to an extent which can help with pain relief. (Our bodies and joints only have finite amounts of space for extra stuff)
Elevating will help the inflammatory markers exit through the venous system towards the heart.
In Conclusion
Everyone of you has the ability to heal on your own. Your body is amazing for that reason. On the same note, we all heal differently.
So if you want to use ice, then use it. If after a few days things aren't getting better, try heat.
The same goes for heat, if you like it then use it. But if you aren't seeing any changes switch to ice.
You may need to try each one and sometimes even do both heat and ice throughout the day. Each of you are different which means your body is going to respond differently.
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