Heat or ice, which one is best suited to alleviate your pain?

Learn when to use ice and when to use heat to alleviate your pain

In the case of pain relief, you may have received contradictory advice about the use of ice and heat.

Both of them have their usage in pain control, but sometimes the heat is better and sometimes ice. Sometimes, the best results may be achieved by combining both.

If you want to know which one to use, it is best to know which type of pain each one is suitable for.

Heat therapy for pain control

Ask yourself the following questions before using heat to relieve pain:

• Has your injury been repaired, or is it fresh?
• Are your muscles stiff and sensitive?
• Is there pain in your joints or your muscles?

The answers to these questions are associated with how heat can affect relieving certain types of pain.

Heat can affect pain treatment in three main situations:

• Is there pain in your joints or your muscles?
• Muscle tension causes pain.
• You need to relax from the stiff joints.
• Illness and unrevealed injury cause pain.

This makes the heat a proper choice for treating musculoskeletal problems, such as:

• Arthritis
• Chronic lower back pain
• Fibromyalgia
• Trigger Points / Myofascial Pain Syndrome

When not to use heat?     

In some situations, heat may not affect or even cause pain to worsen, such as:

• Fresh injuries, such as a sudden sprain or elongation, heat increases as swelling;
• When the skin is torn or damaged

People with certain diseases or physical problems should not use heat therapy because heat can be harmful to them or may increase the likelihood of burns.

The following diseases and complications are some of the things that heat therapy should not perform for them.

• Deep Venous Thrombosis
• Dermatitis (skin inflammation)
• Diabetes
• Vascular Diseases
• MS

If you have any of the following conditions, talk to your doctor before using heat therapy:

• Or if you are pregnant
• If you have heart disease
• If you have high blood pressure

Read about foot pain: https://bestacherelief.ca/foot-pain-relief/

Use ice to control soreness            

The benefits of ice treatment are reduced swelling and sensitivity. If your injury is fresh, ice may help your pain treatment.

Ice can help reduce swelling and bleeding and reduce bruising caused by trauma.

Ice is not only useful for new injuries but can cause numbness in sensitive areas and also reduce allergies caused by pain

caused by chronic diseases.

In reality, ice can be an effective painkiller for many chronic pains, such as:     

• Arthritis
• Back pain
• Migraine headaches
• Trigeminal nerve neuralgia (trigeminal pain)

Some of these may be associated with diseases that use heat to improve them.

If you have any of these complications, both methods may be useful for you, or it may be better to use each at separate times.

Everything depends on which one makes you feel better.

When not to use ice?     

Ice is usually an inappropriate choice for stiffness and old muscle pain because its effect is quite the opposite of heat – ice can cause muscle tightening.

People with chronic diseases, such as the following, should be careful about using ice.

• Fibromyalgia
• Trigger Points
• Myofascial pain syndrome
• Ice reduces the pain of some people (not all people) with these conditions.

Besides, fibromyalgia may include problems regulating body temperature, which makes it hard to warm the body after using cold.

Ice may also worsen the sensitive nervous system.

Combining ice and heat to control pain     

Many of the treatments for pain include using both heat and ice and performing recommended exercises and stretching movements during treatment.

For certain types of pain and injuries, you can heat the muscles, then stretch and strengthen the muscles and cool them down using a little ice at the end.

Heat therapy is not similar to same as spa treatment, but this method helps many people to have the power to do exercises that are useful for them in the treatment process.

Read about dermaplaning: https://bestacherelief.ca/dermaplaning-for-skin/

Last word   

If you are unsure whether you should use heat for your pain or ice, consult your doctor or osteopath.

The treatments are based on the reason and origin of your pain and at what stage of treatment or healing process you are.

Help yourself and try to find the best way to relieve pain for yourself.

Contact our osteopathy clinic in Vancouver. To treat muscle injuries, and joint and muscle aches, and receive osteopathy therapy services or advice.