“Is heat or ice better for a pulled back muscle?”
I am a 40 year old male. I want to know if heat or ice is better for a pulled back muscle?
11 Answers
Traditionally you would ice an acute injury for 10-15 min multiple times a day. Make sure that the skin comes back to normal temp before applying ice again. 48-72 hours with ice before applying heat.
Ice for inflammation. Always start with ice . Then slowly go to heat .
This could be a tricky question to answer. Typically heat relaxes muscles better than cold, but recent injuries respond better to ice than heat. The answer really depends on how recent the injury is, whether there is any information going on, and what other things you have tried to do to help your problem. in general practitioners will recommend ice over heat simply because ice rarely causes a problem to get worse while he’s applied to the wrong situation could make it worse. I would suggest that you consult with a chiropractor or physical therapist, who can evaluate your situation and give you recommendations.
Ice is better than heat whenever you initially injure yourself or have pain. Make sure you put a paper towel between your skin and the ice pack whenever using it. Heat is good for chronic pain.
I typically recommend ice for any injury that has occurred recently. Heat should be used after the injury has been present for a minimum of about 4 days.
Good Afternoon, I always recommend ice for the first 48 to 72 hours after a new injury. Ideally, use the ice for 15 minutes/per hour, which will take down the swelling. If the problem is long-standing then heat may be more helpful.
Thanks for the question. Ice is definitely better than heat for the first couple of weeks to be followed by moist heat thereafter.
Jay H Schwartz, DC, DIBCN, DIBE
Jay H Schwartz, DC, DIBCN, DIBE
ICE 15 ON AND 15 OFF 4-6 APPLICATIONS
Ice....anytime you have an acute muscle injury...think ice.
The best thing for a pulled muscle is to be evaluated by a chiropractic kinesiologist. If the muscle has pulled so hard that it has rotated the bones it's attached to, the first thing you want to do is correct those misalignments. Then use ice for the next three days to control pain and inflammation. Heat may feel good on a sore muscle but as soon as you remove the heat the muscle can go into a rebound spasm and get tighter than it was before. So Chiropractic first then ice, rest, walk around or lie down. Avoid sitting for longer than 20 minutes at a time and only sit in a hard chair.
Ice is better after activity. Heat is better when your feeling stiff and inactive.
