What should I use to help alleviate my pain: Ice or Heat?
Even though the answer to this question seems like it should be simple, it’s extremely common to become confused. You’ll probably end up reading lots of conflicting information if you search the internet for guidance. The correct answer all depends on whether you’re dealing with acute pain or chronic pain.
Acute Pain
As a general rule for acute pain, let’s refer to a popular game show: The PRICE is Right. PRICE stands for Pressure, Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Those are the things that you want to do whenever you’re dealing with an acute injury. Like I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, acute injuries happen suddenly. Examples of acute injuries are when someone gets hurt after lifting something heavy or when an athlete experiences a quick injury.
With any acute injury, there’s going to be trauma and inflammation/swelling to the tissue or joint. Over the first 24 to 48 hours, you’ll want to use PRICE to bring that inflammation down. It’s not a good idea to use a heating pad or hot pack immediately for this type of injury. Even though it might feel good, it will increase blood flow to the area. That’s essentially going to increase the inflammation and make you hurt even more. It could also prolong the time it takes for the injury to heal.
I typically tell patients to put ice 20 on, 20 off for as long as possible. If you’re dealing with an extremity like an arm or a leg, get it elevated to reduce the blood flow. After about 48 hours have elapsed you can then progress into using a heating pad or some type of moist heat. (The inflammation should have subsided at this point.) It’s also a good idea to avoid sleeping on the heating pad. It should instead be used in 20 to 25 minute increments.
In terms of a specific ice pack, the product that I use is called Elastogel. It’s a pliable ice pack that stays soft even after being stored in the freezer. If your problem is in the low back, for example, you can simply lie down on the ice pack so that it presses against the affected area. The problem with other products is that they can be cumbersome and hard to apply (especially to the low back). Just lie down on an Elastogel and maybe get your legs/feet elevated. You’ll get the added benefit of some compression as well.
Chronic Pain
It’s perfectly acceptable to use a heating pad or moist heat immediately to deal with chronic issues like low back pain. Remember, chronic conditions usually occur on a week to week basis. It could be something like low back pain that has persisted for many years. Maybe you’re dealing with a degenerative disc or joint disease. In those cases, you can use heat to alleviate the pain.
Whether you’re dealing with chronic pain or acute pain, we’re here to help. Contact us online or give us a call at (918) 743-3737.
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