Hot & Cold Therapy
Hot and Cold Therapy Products
The human body is constantly pushed to its limit on a daily basis, whether it be via physical activity or lack thereof. With that being said, your body is prone to experiencing pain and injuries as a result of working itself too hard. It can be beneficial to have ice packs on hand in the event of an injury, but it can also be great to have hot packs. The main question is, when do you use cold packs and when do you use hot packs?
Heating Pads
An injury, especially one acquired through sports is best treated by application of heat. Heating pads provide reliable, effective heat safely relieve strains and soreness on the area of injury. Most heating pads are electric, meaning they are plugged into sockets for them to acquire and transmit heat.
Cold packs can be quite useful and with the ample amount of companies offering personalized ice packs, you can even have your own custom pain reliever. Cold therapy is a great way to isolate pain in regards to sprains, strains, and bruises as a result of a sports injury or any other type of physical injury. It is advised that when using cold therapy to only place it in the affected areas 20 minutes at a time to ensure that you do not freeze your skin. Cold packs are used to slow down the amount of blood flow to a particular injury and it help to reduce swelling and pain.
Cold therapy units provide a continuous steady, uninterrupted stream of cold therapy, comfortable enough to ease swelling and pain and provide relief. However, the affected area should only be exposed to such extremely cold temperatures for only the amount of time specified by a doctor.
Heating Wraps
Heat wraps are by far the most popular methods that are based on the application of heat. On one hand, they do not restrict movement and are comfortable for long term usage. On the other hand, they relax the muscles gradually through low heat levels and hence reduce the chances of sudden burst of water retention.
Using Hot and Cold Theraply Safely
Both hot and cold therapy treatment products can be quite detrimental when not applied appropriately. You may want to consider wrapping the hot pack and/or cold pack in a towel or a cloth that is relatively thin so that you do not burn or freeze your skin but so that you can still feel the heat or cold. If you are able to avoid any negative sensations, you will be able to keep the pack on the affected area for a longer period of time, therefore giving you more pain relief.