When am I suppose to use a Heat Pack or a Cold Pack for body pains/aches?!
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you use a cold pack for injuries,ie muscle sprain, fractures etc, and you use them only for the first 24-36 hrs after the injury. you can also use ice or cold for exacerbation of any inflammatory condition such as arthritis etc.this decreases the inflammatory responses by constricting the blood vessels to the affected area. you use heat after the first 24-36 hrs after an injury, by then the inflammatory response is over and the healing response has started. the heat dialates the vessels to allow the white blood cells to begin their job of removing old debris and repairing the damage.you can also use heat for arthritis pain as this allows increased circulation to the area.
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heat pack
always use ICE for pain and sprangs
If it is a new injury..ice first to reduce swelling (20 mins on/20 mins off) & then heat 10 min on/10mins off..Aleternate in other words. Heat works well for existing muscles cramps..
heat pack
when you have an ache or pain you use whichever feels comfortable. some people like heat and other people like cold. it also depends on where the pain is! experiment with it.
Heat may feel more soothing at first, but in the long run, it won't work as well as a cold pack.
Heat increases the blood flow to the area, and can make the pain worse in some cases.
Cold will help the best.
the heat and cold just mess up with pain receptors reducing the pain sensation.
a cold pack is used to reduce swelling and numb pain. a heat pack is used to loosen and relax muscles. i always start with the cold pack and then switch to cold.
Generally, you want to switch between heat and cold every fifteen or twenty minutes. Any longer then that and the hot/cold starts to loose it's effect on muscles and tendons.
Cold for the first 24-72 hours. The idea of the cold is to constict (make narrower) your blood vessels, so that less fluid can flow into the tissue and make it swell up.
After swelling stops being an issue, use hot. At that point your goal is get the excess fluid and other junk carried away, so you want as much blood flow as possible.
If you have a muscle, soft tissue or ligament injury you should ice it for the first 24 hours to get the swelling down, then use heat to relax the site and to get elasticity back.
Source(s):
Former Nurse in the Navy
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