Accidents happen and injuries are not uncommon, especially for those who lead active lives. In the event of an injury, it’s always good to know what to do next. There are plenty of home remedies that can be used, but the most common are ice and heat. Depending on the scope of the injury, you would use one of the two. Both are useful, but which is best?
It’s actually not about which is best, but which is best for your specific issue. Ice, or cryotherapy, is usually used for new, or acute injuries. For example, if you sprained your ankle after coming down from that slam-dunk, it would be appropriate to apply ice.
Other reasons to use cryotherapy include strains, inflammation, muscle spasm, headaches, and pain relief. Heat, or thermotherapy, would be used on muscle soreness or to help heal chronic injuries. An example of this would be a condition like arthritis. Other reasons to use it include pre-stretching, relaxation, stress relief, joint pain and stiffness, and muscle stiffness.
So what is it that sets apart these two forms of therapy?
Well, in an acute injury, like the sprain mentioned earlier, a number of things happen in the body. Soft tissue in the ankle is damaged and blood vessels are broken. Once these blood vessels are broken, they will
leak over to nearby tissues. This causes swelling and inflammation.
Once the ice is applied to the injury, the swelling and inflammation will calm as the cold temperature shrinks those broken blood vessels, vasoconstriction. It is most commonly seen within the RICE method (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate). Cryotherapy can be used as a stimulant, as it takes the body away from homeostasis with an extreme temperature change. It can be used for burn management, as an anesthetic to numb, and as an analgesic.
Thermotherapy actually works in the opposite way, causing vasodilation, or the widening of blood vessels. The increased size of the blood vessels means an increase in blood circulation and an inpouring of oxygen and nutrients to the injury site. The presence of heat can also cause the muscle tissue to lengthen, which is awesome for stretching.
Like Cryotherapy, thermotherapy can also be used as an analgesic and stimulant. But heat can also cause the pores to open up, making it a diaphoretic, and can cause muscles to relax, making it a sedative.
So we now know that cryotherapy and thermotherapy are used under varying circumstances, but it is also important to consider how these therapies are applied. Something as simple as an ice pack on your ankle for 15-20 minutes is considered cryotherapy, but so is standing in a -264 degree Fahrenheit Cryotherapy Chamber for three minutes.
Both utilize cold temperatures, but will each result in different benefits. The localized ice pack is good for
those acute injuries, reducing pain and swelling. The full body Cryotherapy Chamber is said to potentially burn calories, smooth wrinkles, boost the immune system, and release endorphins.
There are many different ways to use both cryotherapy and thermotherapy. Full body cryotherapy will often require an extra large tub of ice, one in which a human can be fully submerged, or a chamber like the one mentioned above. Localized cryotherapy calls for a bag of frozen veggies or a frozen gel pack, and a cloth to be placed between you and the cold in order to protect the skin.
Warm baths, Jacuzzis, saunas and steam rooms are all considered full body thermotherapy while heat pads, paraffin wax, and hot stones fall under localized treatment.
Different injuries and issues need to be addressed in different ways. So before you reach for that handy-dandy heat pad, make sure it’s effects will be best for your specific circumstances.
Jasmine Danielle is a Los Angeles based dancer and fitness trainer. She received her BFA in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has studied with FiTour, the National Federation of Personal Trainers, and the Equinox Group Fitness Training Institute. Jasmine is currently a Group Fitness Instructor for Equinox, Everybody Los Angeles, and Sandbox Fitness. Her fitness modalities include, ballet, dance cardio, barre fitness, TRX, treadmill interval training, cardio kickboxing, jump rope, indoor cycling, and metabolic conditioning.
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