The first rule of
using ice or using heat is commitment. Without commitment, the benefits you are
seeking from either ice or heat will be pointless. If you are committed to
applying ice or heat there are a few things you should know or keep in mind
before doing either.
What does ice do for
an injury?
Ice is best at
reducing inflammation in the injured area. It also does not promote extra blood
flow, which means icing will reduce swelling of the affected area. If you know you
are experiencing an inflammation injury then ice is the best way to go.
What does heat do for
an injury?
Heat is best at
increasing the blood flow to the applied area. Sore muscles can benefit from
heat, because they need more blood to heal and repair themselves. If you are
not suffering from inflammation or swelling of an injury, then you probably
want to heat the sore muscle.
How long is too long?
It’s not advisable to
leave ice or heat on the afflicted area for too long. Experts recommend to
leave ice or heat on for longer than 10 minutes. This is so the ice or heat can
affect your muscle or injury and not just your skin. Anything past 20 minutes
is getting towards the danger zone, especially with ice. Ice can cause frostbite,
so do not ice longer than 20 minutes. In both cases, it’s best to keep
something in between you and the ice or heat, so grab a towel or a double
layered paper towel to reduce sudden temperature changes to the afflicted area.
Timing to Apply
Ice
Do not use ice before
a workout, even if you have an injury. Ice makes the afflicted area stiffer and
you want to be loose before your workout. Another reason not to ice before a
workout is to keep your brain sharp. Icing your injury will signal to your brain
that, because it cannot feel the area it means it’s fine. Prevent a more
serious injury and avoid icing pre-workout. Post-workout is where it’s at for
ice. You can either ice immediately after your workout or you can wait until
you feel like you are not going to be bothering the injured area for the rest
of the night.
Heat
Applying heat before
your workout can be useful to your muscles. As discussed previously, it helps
promote blood flow, which translates to your muscles feeling looser and warmed
up for the workout. If you are looking to heat as an after workout solution it
works best if you apply heat immediately after your workout. You want to
promote blood flow as soon as possible, so waiting decreases the value of heat
reducing the soreness.
On the note of
Injuries
If your injury just
happened, ice it for at least two weeks. Injuries usually have inflammation and
before you want to get blood flow to the area, you want to reduce the swelling.
After the two-week icing period is when you want to switch to heat for
injuries. When the inflammation is gone, you want to increase blood flow to the
injury, so you can get your muscles to repair the damage that is there. Always
trust your gut and see a professional if you feel like an injury is out of your
control, or if the pain persists.
Ice Baths
The jury is still out
on this one, so I’ll do my best to describe the points of both sides.
For the Ice Bath
Hypothetically, ice
baths are supposed to prevent and repair small tears in your muscles and kick
start your body’s recovery. If you are going to dunk yourself in an ice bath
don’t feel pressured to be in freezing conditions and make sure you are not in
the ice bath for over 10 minutes. The other reason to ice bath is to reduce
swelling and pain after a hard workout. Ice baths will help cool your muscles,
so the pain is numbed and when the body heats back up hopefully the pain has
subsided. The last point in favor of ice baths is that ice baths are able to
submerge a large portion of your body at one time, instead of using ice packs.
Against the Ice Bath
Experts over the past
8 years have done studies on the effects of ice baths and most studies will
conclude little to no effect. According to the various studies, which there are
several, ice baths will make a test subject feel physically better after a
workout, but there are no long-term benefits. Basically, ice baths won’t give
you any more improvement whether you decide to have an ice bath or skip the ice
bath.
Whether you are icing
or heating remember to always listen and be mindful of your body. Both
techniques can be beneficial depending on their uses. If you are still
suffering from a long-term injury and you are in pain, please seek professional
opinions.
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Happy Icing and
Heating!
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