How to Use Cold Therapy

Video Transcript

MALU LUJAN: Okay. So we are going to talk a little bit about using cold therapy and also heat therapy and when that is appropriate. This is a gel pad that I have. You can keep it in the fridge or the freezer. Usually you want to make sure that if you are using hot or cold, you know, whatever you are using is sort of in something that has got a thin, maybe, cotton layer to it. So if this person were having some back pain, some inflammation in their neck or their back, you can just take that cold pack and put it on that area. Cold is really great to use somewhere between 10 to 30 minutes at a time and then you want a little break. And you know, if you have a lot of inflammation or discomfort, especially after an intense workout or something, using cold for 24 to 48 hours after an injury or an intense workout can be a really good way to alleviate the inflammation in an area. Okay. So there are lots of hot packs or cold packs that you can use. This is for the neck. This one is great for the back. You can buy them at the drugstore, just the plain old gel packs. This one can go either in the microwave or in the fridge or the freezer. And you know it is always good to have a layer of something between the person and whatever you are using that has got cold or hot. And if you want to reduce, like, if this were a hot pack and you wanted to reduce how much heat they were experiencing, just put another layer between them and the hot pack. One important thing to know about when to use hot or cold is that cold is really best for inflammation. Hot is really best if you have stiff muscles. So some athletes or people who have any kind of injury will use heat in the morning to relax their muscles and get them limbered up, and then use cold at the end of the day if they have some inflammation after they have been out using whatever those muscles are. An easy way to know whether you want hot or cold is if you try it and it does not feel good, you are probably using the wrong thing. If you put heat on an inflammation, it will probably aggravate the problem. So those are some good things to know about using hot and cold therapies. And if you are ever in doubt, you can always call a chiropractor, a doctor and get a little more information that way.