Ice vs. Heat: Which is best for Your Pain/Injury?

As athletes, most of us can relate to experiencingpain and/or injuriesas a result of training and working hard.  Ice and heat are two simple solutions to help relieve pain; however do you know which to use and why for your particular injury?

Ice is most commonly used for acute pain/injuries. Acute pain is sharp pain that usually occurs in one specific area of the body such as a muscle, bone, or joint. Ice helps to minimize any swelling. If you have an injury where swelling is a problem, you should be icing it for the first 48-72 hours. Decreasing the swelling of the injury can also help decrease the pain.  Ice can also be used for chronic conditions such as overuse injuries. If this is the case, the injured area should be iced after activity to control inflammation, never before the activity.

Heating should be used for chronic conditions to stimulate blood flow to the area, and to also help relax and loosen tissues. Heating chronic pain such as overuse injuries should be done before participating in activities. Heating should not be done after activity or for an acute injury. When heating, be sure that you are using a moderate heat temperature for a limited time to avoid burning.

There are a variety of injuries or pain that can happen to our bodies and it’s important to know the difference of treatment plans for each. Here are a list of different problems that can arise, and the best approach to take.

·        Arthritis-Worn away cartilage in joints (ex. knees, elbows, fingers, shoulders). Approach: Heat. The heat can ease the chronically stiff joints and relax tight muscles.

·        Strains-Pulled muscles or injured tendons in the back, thigh, calf etc. Approach: Ice. The ice eases the inflammation (redness, swelling, and tenderness) and numbs the pain. After inflammation resolves, heat can ease the stiffness.

·        Sprains- Stretching or tearing of ligaments in joints like the knee, foot, ankle, etc. Approach: Ice. The ice eases inflammation and numbs the pain. After inflammation resolves, heat relieves stiffness.

·        Tendinitis- Acute irritation after activity in tendons attached to joints such as the shoulder, knee, elbow, wrist, heel, etc. Approach: Ice.The iceeases the inflammation and numbs the pain.

·        Tendinosis- Chronic irritation and stiffness in tendons attached to joints. Approach:Heat. The heat relieves the stiffness after inflammation resolves.

·        Gout Flare ups-Chronic inflammatory arthritis (ankle, heel, wrist, toes, fingers, etc.). Approach: Ice. The ice calm flare ups, and numbs the pain.

·        Headaches-Pain from nerves or blood vessels in the head or from muscles in the neck. Approach: Ice. The ice numbs throbbing heat pain. Heat. The heat can relax painful neck spasm.  

Ice and heat can be applied in a lot of ways. Most experts say that you should apply 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off. With a better understanding of an injury and proper treatment, you can get back to doing the activities that you love much faster than before!

The authors：

Olivia Rodrigues is a recent graduate from Dean College, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in dance. At Dean she was a member of all three dance teams; jazz/contemporary, hip hop, and tap. Olivia is a third year UDA instructor, dance judge, and has choreographed for many high school and college dance teams.