Sports Injuries: Is Heat or Cold Therapy Better?

As I write this, my foot is propped up on a stool and covered with an ice pack.
After lots of walking and tennis the last few days, my right ankle had begun to ache. I figured that playing tennis just once more, early this morning, would help me "work through" the soreness and feel better.

Wrong.

By the time I returned home to shower and change, I was limping. I know my ankle isn't broken, because I can bear weight on it and hobble around (well, sort of). And I'm lucky to have both a sedentary job and a laptop computer, so I can take the time to take care of the injury with R.I.C.E.

R.I.C.E. is an acronym that reminds you how to care for a sports injury or other acute musculoskeletal injury. It stands for Rest, Ice, Elevation, and Compression. In short: limit use of the affected area, keep it elevated, apply ice or cold packs, and use a light pressure wrap bandage on the area.

Ice is just the right thing for a fresh injury - like this one - or a flare-up of a chronic condition. Application of cold packs or ice has the following effects:

• Reduces swelling following a traumatic injury
• Reduces inflammation
• Produces a numbing effect than can reduce pain
• Decreases blood flow to an area
• Decreases muscle spasms

Heat therapy, in contrast, is most often recommended for chronic, long-term ailments, including muscle tightness and tension. The effects of heat therapy include:

• Increased blood flow to an area
• Relief from tension or tightness in muscles
  May reduce joint stiffness
• Optimizes healing/rehabilitation environment in tissues through influx of cells involved in tissue repair (as a result of increase in blood flow)
• Like cold therapy, heat therapy may provide pain relief
• Increase in flexibility
  

I know I don't have a serious injury, and if I call an orthopedist friend, he'll just say "Rest. Ice. Elevation. Compression" and suggest some over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs for the pain, so this time I'll pass on the specialist consultation.

That said, I would never encourage anyone to try home ice or heat therapy (or any home remedy, for that matter!) on any potentially serious injury without first being evaluated by a a physician. If you fear you have a serious injury, it's always best to go to the Emergency Department before attempting to treat yourself.

Related Topics: Exercise after Injury (video), Is Chronic Knee Pain Killing You and Your Fitness Routine?