Hot / Cold Wraps

You have likely heard you should use heat or cold when you develop an injury, but knowing when to appropriately use each one can make a world of difference in how fast the recovery time is for an injury. Different types of injuries require different types of treatment.

Treat Short Term Injuries with Cold Compress

When you first receive an acute injury, you must control any swelling, inflammation, bleeding, and pain. Apply an ice compress to the injury as soon as possible. This will cool down the tissues, lower their metabolic rate and nerve conduction velocity, resulting in vasoconstriction of the surrounding blood vessels and reduced inflammation.

Heat Compress is Ideal for Treating Chronic Injuries

For chronic injuries, apply a heat compress to the injured area. Using heat to treat chronic injuries will help soothe aching muscles and joints, relax tight muscles, increase blood flow to the injury to reduce stiffness and increase the elasticity of tendons and ligaments.

In general, heat therapy is also recommended prior to exercise for those who have chronic injuries. Heat warms the muscles and helps increase flexibility. The only time you should ever consider using cold to treat a chronic injury is after you are finished exercising when inflammation may reappear. Applying cold at this time helps reduce any residual swelling.