Both heat therapy and cold therapy are effective ways of dealing with pain. In this article, we will look at both cold therapy and heat therapy to see how they treat pain and which is more effective in a variety of different scenarios.
COLD THERAPY
Cold therapy treatments are designed to reduce blood flow to a particular area. This reduction in blood flow also reduces the inflammation and swelling that causes pain, especially around a joint or a tendon. Cold therapy will also temporarily reduce nerve activity, which can also relieve pain for a short period of time.
Common cold therapy treatments include:
- Ice packs or frozen gel packs
- Coolant sprays
- Ice baths
HEAT THERAPY
Heat therapy treatments are designed to improve circulation and flexibility in a particular area. The improved blood flow heat therapy provides helps to speed up the healing process in the affected area. It can also help relieve common ailments like headaches and improve the mobility of the heated area.
There are two different types of heat therapy: dry heat and moist heat. Some common dry heat therapies include heating pads, dry heating packs, and even saunas. Moist heat treatments include steamed towels, moist heating packs, saunas and hot tubs. Although both types will relieve pain, moist heat treatments have been shown to be
more effective while also requiring less treatment time to get the same results.
WHEN TO USE COLD THERAPY
When tissue is damaged it causes inflammation and creates swelling. This is inflammation and swelling is your body’s way of preventing you from further injuring yourself, but also causes pain.
Cold therapies are best used when you want to reduce swelling, inflammation and pain. They are therefore most effective when treating a fresh injury to keep swelling in check and reduce the pain of pressure on the injury. They can also be used to reduce painful muscle spasms.
WHEN TO USE HEAT THERAPY
In general, heat therapies work best for injuries that are at least few days old. They’re designed to open blood vessels to assist the healing process and alleviate pain. Heat therapies can also help manage pain and stiffness from chronic joint issues like arthritis and loosen muscles when tension headaches strike.
If the issue is localized to a single muscle, a heating pad or hot water bottle can generally do the job. To treat more widespread pain or stiffness, you’ll want a full body treatment like a hot tub or sauna. When applying full body heat treatments it is important to limit your sessions in the heated area to 30 minutes at most, with a short break in between treatments to cool down your body slightly and rehydrate.
For more information on the health benefits of hot tubs and saunas, consult these articles on our blog:
WRAPPING UP
Although they work in completely opposite ways, both heat therapy and cold therapy are effective ways of dealing with pain. The key is knowing when to use one or the other. In general, it is best to use cold therapies on fresh injuries to help reduce swelling and inflammation. Heat therapies, on the other hand, are better used to treat chronic conditions and older injuries.
