Altering the temperature of an injury or pain can be quite beneficial to the healing process. Unfortunately for many of our wellness partners, knowing whether to use ice or heat can be confusing. Knowing the effects that each has on the body will help you determine which would benefit your particular condition.
As a general rule we recommend our wellness partners with lowback and neck pain use ice on the spine for 20 minutes at a time and wait one hour before re-applying again for 20 minutes. Moist heat may be applied to the sides of the spine on the muscles only and not on the spine for 20 minutes.
The application of moist heat increases the circulation of the blood and decreases tension in the muscles and ligaments. This will cause increased swelling. Moist heat applications can be used on muscles for the relief of chronic muscle and ligament tension.
Moist heat is preferred over dry heat because it penetrates the deeper tissue layers.
The application of ice decreases the flow of blood, thus decreases swelling and inflammation for acute and recent injuries. It also decreases pain. In many lowback and neck pain cases there is swelling of tissues and ice is recommended.
If you have any questions about what you should be using, contact a HealthFirst Chiropractic Doctor.
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