Heat or Cold? Which to Use for Your Injury

You've hurt your back, sprained your ankle or have an aching neck. Do you reach for ice or a hot water bottle? Both can help, but at different times and for different problems.

Cold (ice packs, cold compresses)

Generally used for:

• New injuries, typically in the first 48 to 72 hours: sprains, strains, bumps
• Swelling
• Hot, inflamed, painful areas
• After exercise if an area is sore and swollen

How it helps: cold numbs the area and reduces pain, and can help limit swelling.

How to use:

• Wrap ice or a frozen pack in a damp cloth or towel
• Apply for 10 to 15 minutes
• Repeat every 2 to 3 hours as needed
• Never put ice directly on the skin

Heat (hot water bottles, heat packs, warm showers)

Generally used for:

• Muscle stiffness and tension
• Long-term aches, like chronic back or neck pain
• Arthritis stiffness
• Before exercise, to loosen up stiff areas

How it helps: heat relaxes muscles, eases stiffness and feels soothing.

How to use:

• Use warm, not hot
• Wrap the heat source in a towel
• Apply for 15 to 20 minutes
• Check the skin regularly for redness or blistering

Quick guide

• New injury with swelling: cold
• Stiff, tight muscles: heat
• Chronic aches: heat, usually
• Arthritis: heat for stiffness; cold if the joint is hot and swollen during a flare
• Not sure? Use whichever feels better, as long as it's safe

Safety

Avoid heat and cold on:

• Areas with reduced sensation (for example, people with diabetes or nerve damage)
• Broken skin or open wounds
• Areas with poor circulation

Avoid heat on:

• A fresh injury with swelling
• Areas with infection

Never fall asleep with a heat pack or ice pack on.

If pain or swelling is severe, you can't bear weight, or there's numbness or a change in skin colour, seek medical advice.

Not a treatment on its own

Heat and cold help manage symptoms. Recovery comes from gradually restoring movement and strength.