Alternating hot and cold therapy - the best muscle treatment
We are well aware that hot and cold therapy is one of the best natural muscle recovery treatments. It needs no prescribed medication and it can be easily done with the help of hot water bags and cold gel packs at home. A very effective pain reliever that works fantastically well and doesn’t have any side effects either. Basically, it’s a win-win, as it soothes the problem area without harming any other part of the body.
Let’s look at why the heat and cold therapies work wonders. Ice, along with numbing the area, narrows down the blood vessels in that area. This makes the strained muscles contract, brings down inflammation and decreases pain.
Heat works in an opposing manner. A vasodilator, it widens blood vessels and increases blood circulation and flow of fresh nutrients. This speeds up the healing process and helps the cells replenish which in turn reduces pain.
Now, ice and heat can also cause problems. While ice can aggravate muscle tension and spasms, heat can worsen inflammation. To balance these effects, alternating these two therapies works really well. Since both of these help in different ways it’s important to use a perfect combination of both for a better effect. Doing both together, can help bring down inflammation, boost circulation and loosen muscles in order to bring down pain.
Here’s a basic pattern of how to carry out this alternating therapy.
1 minute of cold therapy followed by 3 minutes of heat therapy. Do this thrice and end with a minute of 1 minute of cold again. This makes it 3 rounds of heat and 4 rounds of cold therapy in total. Repeat this cycle twice a day for as long as your injury heals and your pain subsides.
For heat therapy, you can use hot water bags or soak towels in hot water. Ice packs work for cold therapy but cold gels are better as they retain the cold for longer.
If you see no improvement it is best to consult a doctor to ensure complete muscle recovery.
