One of the most frequently asked questions who make me friends well-known and mainly people involved in sports are: Which is more right after all to use cold or hot packs? So let's analyze together the properties of cold and hot to draw a conclusion.
The temperature of the human body fluctuates around 37.6 º C. Cryotherapy is achieved when the local temperature reaches 13.5 degrees Celsius. The physical properties of cryotherapy, among others, are the reduction of pain, the reduction of muscle spasm, the reduction of circulation and the reduction of the chemical reactions of the injury.
Conversely, to achieve thermotherapy, the local temperature must be between 40 and 44 degrees Celsius. The physical properties of heat therapy are to increase circulation, relax the musculature, increase the rate of healing and relieve muscle spasm. And this is where things get complicated. How is it that the physical properties of these very useful physical therapy tools are so similar, while each type of treatment is used at different times after an injury?
After an injury and the sudden appearance of pain (acute pain), when the area still suffers from redness, heat and swelling, doctors recommend the acronym K.A.P.A. i.e. Cryotherapy, recumbent position, bandaging and rest. This is usually recommended for superficial injuries such as bruises, blows from a fall or from a collision, etc. In such cases, and for the next 48-72 hours, cryotherapy is used as much as possible.
On the contrary, heat therapy is used for chronic pain such as neck pain, back pain, neuralgia, etc. Characteristic of this pain is its deep sensation, which either exists in the same place for a long time, or reappears without any sign of inflammation. Hot or Cold pads
Finally, hot is used after any training, to increase blood circulation and flexibility, while cold after training to avoid grip and reduce the risk of overuse syndromes.
From the above, we would conclude that cold is used immediately after an injury because of its ability to create vasoconstriction in the area and reduce swelling and inflammation.
Also, the decrease in temperature reduces the conductivity of the neurons in the area to the spinal cord, resulting in a reduction in the sensation of pain.
Hot on the other hand, we would say promotes hyperemia, reduces chronic pain, increases the elasticity of the area and reduces muscle spasm with local hyperthermia of the area.
Article from http://physiokinisi.com/
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