Heat or Ice Treatments to Relieve Pain Quickly
This content offers a comprehensive and general overview of heat or Ice pack to treat injuries of soft tissues and other types of pains. If you have a doubt about applications of heat or Ice therapy, then you should consult a doctor, physician or physiotherapist to know the facts.
Heat or Ice Applications:
Heat or Ice therapies have been an integral part of human history and the antique people used both of these tactics to reduce swelling and cure pain. Most people in the past found these therapies very effective and 100% result oriented. Today, modern studies in the health sector have investigated health benefits of heat or Ice and it is true that both therapies can play a key role to treat a number of muscle sprains, tissue torn and casual injuries. These are absolutely safe treatments if you use them wisely, while you will feel better. They will have some direct and good effects on their injuries and there are few risks of using such treatments.
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Heat Therapy:
Heat suits a number of sprains, aches, and pains to give effective results. It includes Heat Pack, heat lamp, heat pads, hot water bottle, deep heat cream, and hot wheat bags are the best options to give hot therapy. Heat opens the blood vessels that will let more blood to flow in an affected area that may heal the torn tissues fast.
It is the best way to relieve spasm and pain directly. It makes tissues supple, while it will ease the stiffness of muscles quickly. If you put a heat pack on an injured area, then it will warm it and not heat or burn the skin. However, intensive heat may cause scalds and skin burn. You need to place a towel between your heat pack and skin to prevent skin burn. Keep checking your skin condition after equal intervals of time.
Don’t apply a heat pack to a new injury, but you need to wait for 48 hours after an injury. If you do it, then it may increase bleeding that is critical for a patient. The problems will go on becoming worst due to heat application quickly. Muscle spasms may happen that will deliver chronic and severe pain to patients. Many kinds of research have discovered that heat application doesn’t give enough results, but it is good to control pain and sprains.
However, if you use heat therapy along with some stretching and regular workouts, then heat therapy will become more effective. Heat therapy is good for following types of pains and injuries.
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When overexertion leads muscle aching and spasm.
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Critical aching due to chronic pain conditions and fibromyalgia.
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Spasm or cramping pains due to periods to females.
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Ice Therapy Application:
Beyond the history, the people in ancient days used ice to cure swelling and injuries of soft tissues. But, there are some proofs that applying ice packs doesn’t yield enough results and good recovery from most of critical injuries and pains. Physiotherapists and doctors claim that application of ice will reduce the temperature of an injured part of the body that will slow down the immune system and its reaction. The response of an immune system in the human body is responsible to heal injuries fast.
Many people in another study claimed that they got massive improvement and quickest recovery from some injuries when they applied the ice pack. Most people believe that ice is a better painkiller, while it is largely helpful to heal some injuries and control the pain. Anyhow, ice applications may have negative effects if you use it for chronic injuries and for long term use.
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Use of Ice Packs:
However, most studies shoe a few effects of ice applications, while many agreed that this therapy works better. Some of the recently collected results are;
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Ice pack applications were excellent when applied to osteoarthritis as ice reduced swelling quickly, stopped inflammation and improved muscle strength. But, the heat didn’t have any notable effect on the injury. There was no side effect by using heat or Ice
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Ice therapy also reduces pain when the people had gout injury, but it didn’t play a part to reduce swelling.
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The heat or Ice Packs contributed well to relieve pain in women when they had vaginal surgeries and cesarean. These therapies recovered many women from the pain of stitches and tissue tears quickly.
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In neck pain, heat or cold didn’t give any positive result.
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Ice pack with exercises gave amazing results in ankle sprains.
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The Ice pack application is the best to control and reduce swelling of some surgical wounds.
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Ice Pack Application:
Ice pack application can perform in the following ways if you apply immediately to an injury for treatment and recovery motives.
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Reduces and stops bleeding in tissues.
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Discourages inflammation and reduces swelling fast.
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Recover from muscle spasm and pain.
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Prevents swelling and reduces pain by numbing affected area etc.
These effects prove that ice application can prevent an injured area from becoming stiff while discouraging inflammation, swelling, and further pain. Further, you can enlarge and maximize the results of ice therapy when you apply it to an injured part of the body. Exercises and precautions are best to support ice applications for treating sprains and injuries better. If you take some specific exercises along with ice therapy, then you can minimize inflammation growth and stop pain quickly. This will help you to reduce swelling and chronic pain in a short course of time. Ice increases the numbing process that also plays a key role in reducing pain and recovering injuries fast.
How Can You Prepare Home Made Ice Pack?
You can make ice packs at home with help of average-sized ice cubes, towel or plastic bags. It is fine too to take a pack of frozen peas in a plastic bag. Don’t eat re-frozen vegetables. Pharmacies also sell ice packs, but the coldest ice pack is best ever for quick pain relief. These are also reusable, while you will need to place these packs in the freezer for 2 hours before to apply. However, it is better to buy and keep a reusable Coldest Ice Pack.
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Ways to Use Ice Packs:
You need to look at some methods regarding how to use ice packs.
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Use some kinds of oil to rub the area where you want to apply ice. If you have the stitches or broken skin, then put a plastic bag on it for ice application. It will save your wound from wetness.
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Use cold wet flannel on the oil if not using a plastic bag.
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Put an ice pack on flannel.
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Keep checking the color of your skin after five minutes and remove the ice pack if it turns into bright pink or red. If the skin is normal, replace the ice pack again for the next 5 to 10 minutes.
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It is fine to put ice packs just for 20 to 30 minutes maximum. However, you can gain more benefits if place it longer. Putting ice packs longer can slow down the recovery process.
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You can optimize the benefits of ice applications if press it on the injured area gently.
Duration to Apply Ice Packs:
You can apply ice packs for 20 to 30 minutes after 5 to 10 minutes of getting an injury. You can repeat it after 2 hours and keep doing for the next 24 to 48 hours. Nature of treatment changes after the first 48 hours when bleeding comes to stop. Now, the motive of treatment is to mobilize tissues and improve muscle movement rather than restricting bleeding. Ice keeps muscles relaxed and relieves pain fast.
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Cares when applying heat or Ice:
If you come across any of the following conditions, you should never apply heat or Ice packs.
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On the skin having allergies or bad condition
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Over the skin that has the poor sensation to cold or heat
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If there is an infection on the skin
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If you are diabetes patient
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On the area of your body where circulation is poor etc.
