Do I Use Heat On My Injury?

Heat therapy is an excellent option if you have been injured because you can easily do it at home. Such a therapy aims to improve circulation and blood flow to raise the temperature around a specific damaged site or experience pain. Once you increase the temperature and improve circulation, healing will relax your injured muscles, improve flexibility and heal the damaged tissues.

Whatever the reason for your pain, according to Ceda Orthopedic Group, heat can soothe muscle tension and even chronic back pain.

How to Use Heat?

Heat therapy is available in two forms: dry heat or moist heat. When it comes to dry heat, a doctor will recommend you to use heating pads or saunas. As for moist heat, you can use steam towels, a hot bath, or a shower for moist heat. By comparison, moist heat works a lot faster, meaning that you won’t need to apply it for as long as dry heat.

Usually, when you are using heat therapy, you target a specific part of your body, the one in pain. The exception is a sauna or a hot shower, targeting your whole body.

If you opt to use an electric heating pad, you should consider not falling asleep while it’s on or make sure to select an automatic shutoff feature.

When to Use Heat on An Injury?

It is best to use heat therapy if you are dealing with soreness or muscle pain. You should never apply heat to a new injury because it will worsen the swelling and pain. Moreover, if you are sweating, don’t apply heat as it won’t be effective.

If you are dealing with minor aches and muscle tension, you can apply heat for about 15 to 20 minutes. You may need longer heat sessions for severe or widespread pain, including a hot bath or sauna. These could last from 30 minutes up to two hours.

Additionally, you can opt for heat treatment for conditions such as overuse injuries before starting your activities. Please do not use them after your workout or an acute injury. Also, use moderate heat for a limited period to avoid potential burns.

While heat therapy is a great way to relax your muscles and ease your pain, you should seek medical attention immediately if your pain is not decreasing. Heat is an excellent tool, but it’s not replacing the necessary medical intervention. Even if the heat therapy eases your pain, keep in mind how often you use heat to control your pain. If you rely too much on heat therapy, you may want to see a doctor about what is causing your pain.

Precautions

Whether it is heat or ice therapy you are  choosing to apply on your injuries, make sure not to use heat or cold packs:

• If you have diabetes
• If you are aware of an infection
• Over skin that is in poor condition
• Over skin with poor sensation to heat or cold
• Over party of your body with known poor circulation

Also, heat therapy may not be appropriate for those suffering from heart diseases, hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, deep vein thrombosis, or other similar conditions.

Is it Safe for Pregnant Women to Use Heat Therapy?

You can use a heating pad or a moist towel for your low back pain and muscle spasms to ease the inevitable pain. Doctors advise against the use of saunas or hot tubs if being pregnant.

However, localized heat therapy may be an excellent tool for pregnant women to cope with pains and muscle aches during their pregnancy.

Pregnant women are never advised to apply heat directly to their abdomens. Also, as mentioned previously, they should avoid full-body heat therapy such as hot tubs or saunas.