Ice vs Heat: The Great Debate

Is R.I.C.E (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) still the best advice after injury?

Applying ice causes your blood vessels to narrow, decreasing blood flow to the area. In turn, this helps reduce the inflammation that causes swelling. Even if you can't actually see the swelling, one of its symptoms is pain. This means that if you can reduce your swelling, you can reduce your pain.

Applying heat causes your blood vessels to expand, increasing blood flow. This brings more biological products, such as oxygen and nutrients, to the injured area, which can help relieve the source of your pain over time. As a result, heat has a number of potential and perceived benefits, such as: decreasing joint stiffness, increasing flexibility, and alleviating muscle cramps. S

Acute vs Chronic Inflammation

For today, we are only talking about acute injuries. For example, you fell and bruised your knee, or sprained your ankle, or closed your finger in the car door (yikes!).

In PT school, I was taught the reason to use ice was to decrease pain and stop swelling. Those reasons still hold true today. Ice does decrease pain and it does decrease swelling. BUT ... Inflammation is a normal part of the body's defense to injury or infection.

What treatments work WITH your bodies natural inflammatory system?

As you may have guessed by now, we are PRO-inflammation. And what I mean by that is, we want to work WITH your bodies natural metabolism for healing. Shockwave therapy, dry needling, therapeutic massage, cupping, scraping, strength training ALL encourage blood flow and work with your bodies inflammatory system. Next time, think twice before you ice (yes, l absolutely meant to rhyme) and when in doubt, give us a call!

Book an appointment online at www.capeconciergept.com today and experience the transformative care we offer.

Make sure to schedule your physical therapy, massage and wellness visits to ensure they are first in your calander and always prioritized. Please share this newsletter with a friend that is ready to skip the waiting room and start receiving the care the deserve.

As always, we're immensely grateful for your trust and support. Thank you for being an integral part of the CCPT family.

With gratitude and excitement, Your Cape Concierge PT Team

Instagram: @capeconciergept Facebook: CapeConciergePT