How to Treat Injuries Using Hot and Cold Pack
Ever wonder what should you do when you’re injured or experience soreness or chronic pain? If you ask for advice, you might find that there are suggestions to apply heat or cold regarding the matter. Here are some things you need to know about using temperature in the healing process.
Cold packs come in many different varieties which is popular and effective in treatments to ease pain and swelling from minor injuries. Some are sacks of gel that turn into ice packs in the freezer, other are packets designed to turn cold instantly with a simple squeeze with no regrigerator or freezer required. You can also make your own cold pack by wrapping some ice or a bag of frozen vegetables in a towl.
You can use cold pack when you have sprained or twisted ankle. Bruises, insect bites, and repetitive strain injuries such as tendinitis, also respond well to treatment with cold packs. Cold therapy can help people with muscle spasms, whiplash, and various forms of arthritis as well.
Cold packs are effective at reducing swelling and numbing pain. Did you know that injury swells because of fluid leaks from blood vessels? Cold causes vessels to constrict, reducing their tendency to ooze. This means that the less fluid leaks from blood vesseslss, the less the swelling results. Applying cold could also ease inflammation and muscle spasms, which are two common sources of pain.
On the other hand, you can use heat to increase blood flow and help restore movement to injured tissue. Warmth can also reduce joint stiffness, pain, and muscle spasms. As with cold packs, heat packs have a role in easing pain from both acute and chronic injuries, such as sprains, strains, muscle spasms, whiplash, and arthritis. Doctors often suggest using cold packs for the first day or two, and then switching to heat if the symptoms persist or become more chronic.
For some people hot packs always soothe a sore back. Study shows that the continuous application of low-level heat easedlow back pain better than two common painkillers. Try to apply a hot pack wrapped in a towel for 20 to 30 minutes at a time. Some physical therapists recommend alternating between heat and cold for people with painful muscle spasms or chronic problems such as arthritis.
Though it seems that applying the soothing warmth of a heat pack will get your pain disappear, you need to know that you should treat any new injury with cold for a couple of days before switching to heat. Heat actually may do more damage than good until most of the swelling is gone.
If you’re intersted of getting a heat and cold pack, then we recommend you to get the one from Duo Hot-Cold Pack. It allows you to use it as hot pack or cold pack according to your need. Simply put it in the freezer then you will get a cold pack, while putting it in the microwave will make it a hot pack. It is made of non-toxic and odorless materials, and also reusable.
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