Aches and pains: When to use heat and when to use ice

As a Chiropractor, I see a lot of aches and pains. Everything from low back pain and sports injuries to stubbed toes and freak exercise ball accidents. Getting aches and pains are an inevitable part of life, like a winter snow storm in Chicagoland, you know it’s going to happen. Something that has become inevitable in my life is that everyday one of my patients asks me, “Should I put ice on it or heat on it?”

It’s a very good question without a one size fits all answer. It depends on why you are in pain in the first place. While both ice and heat are used to decrease discomfort, they don’t accomplish this in the same way. In fact, they are different enough that using the wrong one at the wrong time can actually make things worse. So, let’s look at a few common reasons that you may want to use heat or ice and what the right decision would be in that situation.

Ice for new injuries

Sprains, Strains, bumps, stubs, falls, trips and situations were you said “I banged it on something.” As a general rule for these situations, ice for the first 72 hours of a new injury and avoid heat during this time period. Heat will actually increase inflammation in new injuries and make things much worse while ice will reduce the inflammation and help numb some of that pain.

Heat for old or chronic tightness

Chronic muscle pain, muscle tightness, arthritis (osteoarthritis not inflammatory arthritides like R.A.), chronic stiff joints and some headaches (I’ll get into this next). Heat is generally good for these things. If at all possible you want to opt for moist heat over dry heat. Moist heat will penetrate better while dry heat has a chance of congesting the tissues (no good). If you notice a decrease in range of motion at the site in question, a good rule to follow is heat it when range of motion is restricted by tightness and ice it when range of motion is restricted by pain.

Headaches

Headaches depend on the cause. If the headache is a throbbing, vascular headache place ice on your head or the base of your head and neck and heat on your hands and feet. The reason for this being that you are trying to decrease the throbbing in the blood vessels that comes along with a vascular type headache by routing more blood into your extremities and away from your head. For tension headaches, moist heat is good to relax the muscle tightness that is causing the headache. Moist heat is also best for sinus headaches because it will break up some of the mucus in the sinuses that is causing so much pressure.

A few final words

Some things to remember, it’s important that you consult with your doctor regarding any new aches or pains and what should be done about them. Your skin should be protected from both ice or heat by putting down a protective layer (towel, paper towel, etc). You don’t want to ice or heat for more than 20 minutes at a time and you want to wait at least 40 minutes before the next session. Lastly, don’t lay on heating sources especially while sleeping. I know it sounds nice and cozy but you’re risking a burn on top of your original pain.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Please feel free to contact me or leave it in the comment box below!

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Phillip Gamble, DC
Chiropractor St Charles IL
White Oak Family Wellness
405 Illinois Avenue #2b
St. Charles, IL 60174
(630) 442-0057

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