Ice Or Heat – Which Should You Use For Injury Treatment?

Only when our muscles are warm can they become more pliable and flexible. Similar to cheese, stretching while cold can lead to micro-tears and injury to the muscle tissue. Warming up before stretching can be done safely using a hot shower/bath, heat pack, or a few minutes of movement/exercise. For this reason, we must always warm up before stretching.

When an injury occurs, our bodies tend to over-compensate and become too self-protective. Often too much blood and attention is sent to an injury site causing inflammation and pain. An ideal way of knowing when to apply heat or cold to an existing injury, is to understand how heat and cold affect the body.

Heat opens the blood vessels and allows blood to flow freely to and from the injury site. If the injury is inflamed or painful, heat is not recommended. Heat applications add “fuel to the fire”, making the inflammation worse. Use heat therapy carefully as heat can burn the skin.

Cold applications, however, decrease blood flow and calm inflammation. Using cold when an injury is new or painful/inflamed will calm the area moving blood away from the injury, allowing it to heal.

Customized hot and cold combinations and instruction, will be provided by your Sunstone Massage Therapist during your treatment time.

It is important to know their effects and proper use and when in doubt to rely on a professional qualified trained Registered Massage Therapist with knowledge of hot and cold applications and its combinations for best pain treatment and recovery results.

Sunstone Massage Therapy is a qualified professional registered massage clinic. Re-Define Your Health. Telephone: 647-233-2569