How long should heat be applied

Increasing the temperature of the afflicted area even slightly can soothe discomfort and increase muscle flexibility. Heat therapy can relax and soothe muscles and heal damaged tissue. There are two different types of heat therapy: dry heat and moist heat. Professional heat therapy treatments can also be applied. Heat from an ultrasound, for example, can be used to help pain in tendonitis. When applying heat therapy, you can choose to use local, regional, or whole body treatment.

Local therapy is best for small areas of pain, like one stiff muscle. You could use small heated gel packs or a hot water bottle if you only want to treat an injury locally. Regional treatment is best for more widespread pain or stiffness, and could be achieved with a steamed towel, large heating pad, or heat wraps. Full body treatment would include options like saunas or a hot bath. There are certain cases where heat therapy should not be used. If the area in question is either bruised or swollen or both , it may be better to use cold therapy.

People with certain pre-existing conditions should not use heat therapy due to higher risk of burns or complications due to heat application.

These conditions include:. If you have either heart disease or hypertension, ask your doctor before using heat therapy. If you are pregnant, check with your doctor before using saunas or hot tubs. Heat therapy is often most beneficial when used for a good amount of time, unlike cold therapy, which needs to be limited.

Moderate to severe pain can benefit from longer sessions of heat therapy like warm bath, lasting between 30 minutes and two hours. Cold therapy is also known as cryotherapy. Should You Ice or Heat an injury?

Ice Treatment Ice treatment is most commonly used for acute injuries. Heat Treatment Heat treatments should be used for chronic conditions to help relax and loosen tissues and to stimulate blood flow to the area. Understanding Hammertoe. Feeling New Without a New Joint.

Top 6 Ways to Exercise With Arthritis. Learn more. Search form Search. Use ice for pain in joints such as knees, elbows and shoulders. Keep It Local Do not apply ice or heat to large areas of the body if only one joint or body part is the focus.

Comments October 20, My chiro advised icing and applying ice then heat. Thank you for the great explanation. October 15, You have explained the use of ice and heat, singly and in combination better than a number of sites I read before finding you. A much appreciated and magnificent job. Thank you heartedly. September 28, Most informative and very helpful. Thank you soo much. June 29, Thanks very much I learn the difference between ice and heat for pain. Reply From: OrthoCarolina.

June 29, This was great! I now have a very clear understanding on how to treat my injuries, thank you so much! May 02, I am very thankful that I found this article! I've had knee replacement surgery and suffered a lot of pain. I was told by therapist that icing was my best friend, but what I didn't know was that 20 minutes on and 30 to 40 minutes off is the best cycle of using ice.

I tried it and it worked much better! Thank you for the knowledge! March 20, Thank you for letting me know in plain language about the icing and the Heat I was always getting confused about the two. March 15, Thank you so much for clearing up the confusion I have had on icing and heat for my back. You explained this so clearly!!

December 23, Interesting read, thanks! August 28, Thank you so much,this is very details,I only use heat method before but now I will try the heat and ice method on my clients that has Arthritis. Professional athletes may use ice massage, cold water immersion, and whole-body cryotherapy chambers to reduce exercise-induced muscle damage EIMD that can lead to delayed onset muscle soreness DOMS.

DOMS commonly emerges 24 to 48 hours after exercise. A study published in The Cochrane Library in suggested that a cold bath after exercise may help prevent DOMS, compared with resting or doing nothing. The participants spent between 5 and 24 minutes in water between 50 and 59 degrees Fahrenheit, or 10 to 15 degrees Celsius.

However, the researchers were not certain whether there may be negative side effects, or if another strategy might be more helpful. It may be less helpful for back pain , possibly because the injury is not new, or because the problem tissue, if it is inflamed, lies deep beneath other tissues and far from the cold press. Applying heat to an inflamed area will dilate the blood vessels, promote blood flow, and help sore and tightened muscles relax.

Improved circulation can help eliminate the buildup of lactic acid waste occurs after some types of exercise. Heat is also psychologically reassuring, which can enhance its analgesic properties.

Heat therapy is usually more effective than cold at treating chronic muscle pain or sore joints caused by arthritis. Types of heat therapy include :. Heat packs can be dry or moist. Dry heat can be applied for up to 8 hours, while moist heat can be applied for 2 hours.

Moist heat is believed to act more quickly. Heat should normally be applied to the area for 20 minutes, up to three times a day, unless otherwise indicated. Applied to the neck, heat may reduce the spasms that lead to headaches. In , a team of researchers found that patients with lower back pain who exercised and use continuous low-level heat wrap therapy CLHT experienced less pain than those who did not use CLHT. Previous studies had shown that, for some people, CLHT relieved pain more effectively than oral analgesics, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen.

However, the effectiveness of heat treatment may depend on the depth of the tissue affected by the pain or injury. There is some evidence that this might help, but heat that is applied for only 5 to 20 minutes may be less effective, as does not have the chance impact the deeper levels of tissue.