Hang around sports teams long enough – especially those without professional trainers or medical staff – and you’ll get an idea how mixed prevailing thought on how to treat sports injuries. It’s the age-old debate: Do you use cold or heat in the wake of an on-field injury?
Will cold stall the healing process? Will heat “loosen up” injured tissue and speed recovery?
Sports medicine professionals, of course, know the answers but many non-professionals still struggle with conflicting thoughts so here it is, finally, for the rest of us.
When to ice. When to heat. Boiled down to eight simple words: “Ice is for injuries. Heat is for muscles.”
When to go cold
Ice is great for minimizing damage to tissues inflamed or swollen by injury, like twisted ankles or joint sprains. When you suffer an injury, inflammation is part of the healing process though it often is a painful one. Ice dulls the pain while keeping the swelling from doing any more damage.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), ice is an integral part of accepted treatment immediately after an injury. Better known by the acronym “RICE,” it includes four steps for an athlete to take after getting hurt: Rest, ice, compression and elevation.
Icing is important because it reduces narrow blood vessels, preventing blood from pooling at injury sites and causing inflammation and swelling that will slow the healing process, the ACSM points out in information geared toward parents of young athletes. The group advises icing for first 2-3 days after an injury, applying an ice pack for 20 minutes each hour. Leaving it on longer could do more harm than good, including a risk of frostbite.
When to heat it up
Injuries like back spasms or pulled muscles are perfect chances to use heat. The heat will loosen cramping and keep injured tendons ligaments from stiffening. It also soothes the surrounding nerves, which will make the injury less painful. After applying heat, rest is key to allowing the healing process to begin.
Don’t mix them up
Knowing when not to apply ice or heat is just as important as knowing when to use them, according to the academy. Heat can make an inflammation worse. It can also make an injury worse. Ice a cramp or muscle strain and it’s likely to contract harder and your teammates will have to peel you off the ceiling.
If you have questions about a sports injury or would like to know more, talk to your doctor of ask your team’s trainer.
