Ice or Heat?

Ice or heat? That is the question many patients will ask when they have pain. The answer is ice and heat are both good options, but you need to know when to use them.

Typically, if it is a new injury or a flare-up of an existing injury the answer is ice. Ice will help calm down inflammation and swelling. Heat is generally used on older injuries greater than 72 hours old. Heat will increase blood flow, relax muscles, heal damaged tissue and soothe aches. Heat or ice should never be used for more than 20 minutes. After 20 minutes you should remove the ice or heat for 30 minutes. Please speak with your provider to see if heat or ice could help you.