How Does Heat or Cold Help Back Strain?
Both cold and heat can be helpful and can be used in different ways for pain relief:
Heat therapy, such as applying a heating pad, or hot water bottle to a painful area, works by increasing blood flow, to stimulate healing of damaged tissues. This can help to relieve stiffness, decrease muscle spasms, and helps reduce pain. Heat therapy should not be used in the first 48 hours after injury.
Cold therapy can help relieve pain within the first 48 hours after an injury. It works by reducing swelling. It also numbs the area and reduces muscle spasms. It can help reduce bleeding into the tissues, if you start applying an ice pack immediately after injury and then regularly for the next 48 hours.
When to Use Cold or Heat Therapy for back pain
More than half of all adults are likely to have low back pain at some point in their lives. Both cold and heat therapy are useful for relieving back pain.
Cold is good for helping to reduce pain and swelling from recent injuries, sprains or strains of the lower back.
Heat on the other hand, is helpful for older back injuries, or pain from muscle and joint conditions such as arthritis or fibrositis. It can also relieve muscle spasms caused by recent low back injuries, 48 hours after the injury. Heat is helpful when there isn’t inflammation, when you want to help reduce joint stiffness, loosen tight muscles and increase blood flow.
Avoid using heat 48 hours after injury, where there is tissue damage or inflammation. This can increase bleeding under the skin, and may worsen the condition.
If you’re unsure about when to use heat or cold therapy, speak to a healthcare professional for advice.
How to Apply Cold Therapies
Back pain usually improves within a few weeks, but there are various ways you can apply cold therapies at home, in the first 2 days after injury or to help with recovery:
Using an Ice Pack at home
The simplest way to apply a cold therapy at home is to use a bag of frozen vegetables or peas from your freezer, wrapped in a tea towel. Alternatively you could use ice cubes in a sealed plastic bag, wrapped in a towel or cloth. Ice or cold packs should not be applied directly to the skin, as they can cause burns or frostbite.
Here's a step-by-step guide to using ice or cold packs at home:
- Ideally, rub a small amount of oil over the injured area where the pack will be placed, to protect the area. If the skin is damaged or there are stitches, protect the area with a plastic bag instead of oil.
- Place a towel over the area and apply the ice pack to the injured area.
- Remove the pack after 5 minutes, so that you can check the colour of the skin under the pack. If the skin is bright pink or red, remove the pack from the injured area. If it’s not pink, leave the pack on, for a further 5 to 10 minutes.
- You can leave the pack on for up to 20 minutes, keeping an eye on the skin and removing the pack if the skin turns bright pink or red.
- You can repeat the cold treatment every 2 to 3 hours for the next 24-48 hours.
How to Apply Hot Therapies
Perhaps you’re experiencing pain or stiffness in your back related to a condition such as arthritis, or you’ve pulled a muscle in your lower back? Using heat therapy such as a heat pack or hot water bottle at home, might help to ease your discomfort:
Using a Hot Water Bottle at home
Hot water bottles can be easy to use and help provide cost effective relief from back pain and discomfort, when used correctly:
Here are some tips to consider, when using a hot water bottle:
- Fill the bottle with water to provide gentle warmth - ensure the water and hot water bottle are not too hot, to avoid scalds and burns
- Wrap the hot water bottle in a towel before applying to the skin
- Check your skin at regular intervals.
Other types of cold and heat therapies
If you find that a bag of frozen peas or ice is helping to relieve your back strain, but you’d like an alternative product that can be purchased for use at home, here are some other options:
- Wheat cushions are filled with wheat and can be placed in a freezer to chill. They can usually mould themselves to your back or other part of the body. These can sometimes, also be used for heat therapy when heated up in a microwave.
- Gel packs, like wheat cushions can be heated or cooled. They are heated by placing in hot water or can be cooled by being placed in the freezer. As with wheat cushions, take caution when applying to the skin, to avoid heat or cold burns and when handling the pack or cushion after heating.
- Other types of heating methods that could be used at home or at a spa, include hot baths or showers, steam baths or sauna’s, electric heating pads or hot stone therapies.
FAQs
Can Heat Make Pain Worse?
If you have pain from a new injury, avoid applying heat for the first 48 hours. Applying heat can make it worse by increasing bleeding under the skin around the injury.
When Should You Not Use Hot and Cold Treatments?
Don’t use heat or cold therapy:
- If the area of affected skin is in poor condition, or the area has poor sensitivity (numb) to heat or cold.
- If you are diabetic.
- If you have an infection.
- On areas that are known to be affected by poor circulation (low blood flow).
You must also avoid using ice packs on your left shoulder if you have a heart condition or use them around the front or side of the neck. Avoid using heat on a new injury.
Does Putting Ice on Your Back Help with Back Pain Caused by a Strain?
Ice on your back can help if you have a recent injury (up to 48 hours), and later in the rehabilitation phase.
What are other ways to relieve pain caused by a back strain?
- Stay active and try to continue with your daily activities as much as possible.
- Try doing some exercises and stretches for back pain.
- A painkiller with anti-inflammatory properties, such as ibuprofen, can be taken for back pain. Paracetamol on its own, is not recommended for back pain, but it may be used with another painkiller.
- Nurofen Express 200mg Liquid Capsules contain ibuprofen with anti-inflammatory properties, for the relief of backache. They help provide up to 8 hours of pain relief when taken as a 400 mg dose.
Although back pain can interrupt your daily activities, heat and cold therapies, with or without painkillers, may help to provide you with enough relief to help you get on with you day or help you get back to recovery after an injury and exercising.
This article is not intended to prescribe or diagnose, and to reach out to a health care professional in case of any queries.
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