Fire and Ice

Use Heat and Cold to Soothe Pain and Swelling

By Chris Virusky, DC
Now that the boating season is underway and you are dealing with the sore muscles resulting from your labors, you face the rather confusing choice of whether to use heat or ice to soothe those aches and pains.  Understanding how both ice and heat work on our body is the key to knowing how and when to use each remedy appropriately.
The effect of ice on the body is to numb local nerves and decrease active inflammation or swelling by reducing the size of the blood vessels in the affected area during application.
The effect of heat on the body is to decrease spasm in the muscle and increase blood flow by increasing the size of the blood vessels in the affected area during application.
Let’s use two examples to illustrate this point.
In scenario one, you have just walked by your ice chest and hit your knee hard enough to result in a goose egg.  Your goal should be to numb the pain and decrease the size of the goose egg, so ice would be the best choice. 
In our second scenario, your shoulders and back are stiff the day after loading all the food and other goodies on your boat, so you can relax during your weekend on the water.  Your goal here should be to decrease muscle spasm and flush the muscles to help them heal more quickly, so heat would be the best bet.
Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but generally with any injury use ice the first day and switch to heat the second. When using either ice or heat, a protocol of an application for twenty minutes over the area of complaint with at least an hour of rest before re-application should be observed. 
Never put the ice or heat directly on the skin.  Use a thin towel for the ice and a thicker one for the heat, and let the cold or heat gently soak through
to your body.
There are certain health conditions that might affect the use of heat or cold, like infection, diabetes or pregnancy, so check with your doctor before use.