I often get asked – Should I use heat or ice after an injury? How long for? Why?
Both cryotherapy (cold) and thermotherapy (hot) are useful in facilitating a speedy return to your sporting activity. But when is it best to use either?
Studies over the years have been relatively anecdotal. However, consensus tends to be in favour of utilising the benefits of cold therapy in the acute (immediate) stages and heat therapy during the subacute stage, following acute management.
Both cryotherapy (cold) and thermotherapy (hot) are useful in facilitating a speedy return to your sporting activity.
The main take-home message for either modality is to:
Reduce perceived pain levels to restore normal movement as soon as possible
Grabbing a bag of frozen peas is not a bad idea!
Best practice suggests we use crushed ice (in a small bag or wrapped in a tea towel) for 10-minute intervals (10mins on, 10mins off, 10mins on again)*. This process can be repeated every 2 hours (3). The process itself should reduce the tissue temperatures to approximately 5-10oC for optimal benefit. If your injury is superficial (close to the surface of your skin), a 5-minute interval application of ice is also appropriate. If your injury is ‘deep’, you may need to increase your icing time to 20-minute intervals to allow the cold therapy to penetrate muscle tissues.
*Always check your skin after 1 minute of ice application for any allergic reaction or potential ice burn. Cease immediately if there’s a reaction and review with your GP for management advice.
Heat packs should never be overheated to cause a burn to your skin. Optimal temperature is between 40-45 oC and applied for up to 20 minutes.
Absolutely!
Remember, with decreased pain levels we want to start to move naturally again. Gentle mobility exercises of the joints surrounding the injured site can assist your recovery with both heat and ice modalities. A common ankle sprain for example, can be assisted in recovery by carrying out regular simple ankle circle exercises for the first couple of days (within pain tolerances) and followed by gentle lower limb stretching 2-3 times per day.
Acute Stage (1-3 days)
Remember, the overall goal for injury recovery is to help you move/perform as normal as possible, as quickly as possible.
Physio,
Todd
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