I've Got Pain...Should I Ice it or Heat It?

I get a lot of patients who have learned from countless chiropractors and doctors that you should always ice an injury. In Chinese Medicine, there is not that same strong belief that ice is the best strategy for an injury. In some cases it's believed that heat will improve the recovery of the injury and ice will just make it worse.

It's said that when there is pain there is no "free flow". When you ice something you "freeze" it. "Freezing" it means you stop the flow of blood and qi to the wound. So, when you freeze the free flow of your blood and qi you don't always allow it to heal.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that icing is never applicable. I usually tell people that if they injure themselves and it is swelling, to ice it the first day. I usually give patients herbs to help move the blood so that it can heal faster. I also encourage folks to gently massage the area if it's not too painful. The idea is to get fresh qi and blood to the area as soon as possible in order to have the fastest recovery.

If someone has a chronic injury I usually tell them to apply heat. Well, first I feel the location of the injury. If it is cold to the touch, I am positive that they should apply warmth. This means, depending on the location, taking a hot bath/soaking the area or applying a hot water bottle. Throwing in epsom salts to a bath/soak, which are available at any Walgreens, also aids in the healing process.

If you come in for a treatment, cupping can be an excellent treatment for injury. Cupping is a cup that has suction and when applied to the body will help the body bring all the stagnated and old blood that is causing poor healing/pain to the surface. Once it's on the surface, the body can flush it from the body and it is no longer stuck in the muscles.

Another option is to come in and pick up a linament. These linaments were designed early on by martial artists, the most famous of which are the Shaolin Monks. Many of them developed effective linaments for sprains, muscle aches, and pain from their workouts.

Hope that helps and remember, try heat instead of cold if it's a chronic injury!