During my consultations at our Osteopath Newcastle Clinic, I often get asked:
“should I use hot or cold on my painful back?”
Some people are also using hot or cold sprays, and we will talk a little bit about that too.
Firstly, I would say that true hot or cold applied through a compress such as hot water bottle or bag of frozen peas is much more effective than the sprays which you pay for in the shops.
The reason for this is because by actually changing the temperature of the skin and underlying muscles and tissues, you are affecting the blood supply, lymphatic drainage and the levels of tension within the muscles; when you use a spray you are merely changing the sensation on your skin (not the actual temperature) which acts as a distraction to your brain for a while.
Cold Compress
Let’s talk about the cold compress first. I would recommend this for use in an acute injury.
For example, you are running and you strain your calf muscle, or you bend down to pick something up and your lower back seems ‘to go’. There is fast onset of pain and you may have difficulty moving the area concerned.
Where there is a potential injury then your body’s immune response is activated, meaning that inflammation is triggered releasing lots of cells to the area to help clot blood, mop up damaged cells and start the process of healing the tissues which have been damaged.
This makes the area painful and often heat or swelling can be felt over it.
Inflammation is an important process, and part of healing. However, when there is too much it can slow things down and often when injury allows, getting moving gently as soon as possible is preferable and helps faster recovery.
When a cold compress is applied then we get a slowing down of the inflammatory response because the blood vessels and lymphatic vessels are all constricted with the cooler temperature causing excess fluid to be moved away from the area.
In the initial stages of injury this promotes recovery.
Note that cold should be applied for around 20 minutes each hour and not directly to the skin!
Heat Packs
Heat on the other hand is ideal for an existing injury where inflammation is no longer there, also for postural aches and pains.
This is because heat opens up blood vessels and brings fresh blood to the area and helps muscles to relax releasing tension. This means that it helps with promoting healing too as fresh blood brings the nutrients and building blocks which promote tissue recovery. You would not want to use a heat pad on a brand-new injury as this would increase inflammation and make your pain worse potentially.
Hot and Cold Sprays
When it comes to hot/cold sprays which are readily available in the shops, they may offer you some distraction from the pain, but as they don’t actually change the physiology of the tissues like true hot or cold compresses, they won’t make lasting changes to the recovery process.
Use the real thing when you can and these sprays as a back up when you are out and about!
There are medicinal sprays which have medications such as ibuprofen in them and again they are sprayed directly on to the site of pain – the idea being that they are applied directly and the medication doesn’t not have to go through the digestive tract and liver to get to the source of pain and so is more targeted.
Speak to your pharmacist about this is you have any questions. In my experience and from feedback received from my clients, they seem to have little effect.
Remember that tissue healing is a journey and that there is no such thing a quick fix. Using natural and holistic health options are a great way to speed the process up and to help get you back on track as quickly as possible.
If you are still unsure about which to use, please ask during your consultation.
I hope this information has helped. If you have any questions / comments about this post or have a question you’d like to ask Claire, then please do so by filling up the form section below.
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