Hot Or Cold? What To Use For Joint Pain

If you’ve ever dealt with swollen joints, you might have heard differing advice about alleviating pain and inflammation. Some people will recommend using cold therapy while others will tell you to go with something hot. So how do you know which one will help you? Let’s find out.

How Cold Therapy Helps

Cold therapy is great for acute or sudden pain and inflammation. You might see this because of an injury or overdoing it during your exercise routine. Using cold at this point is helpful because it makes blood vessels smaller, which in turn reduces inflammation. Cold therapy is also useful if you have a chronic condition that results in flares where your joint pain is worse than usual.

Your Options And How To Use Them

For cold therapy, you can buy cold or gel packs. You can also make your own at home by placing a small, wet towel in the freezer or using a package of frozen peas.

Regardless of your choice, it’s essential to use it correctly. It’s best to apply cold therapy within 48 hours of feeling sudden pain and you should never place a cold pack directly on your skin unless it has a built-in barrier.

It’s recommended that you wrap cold packs in a towel or rag before placing them on the affected area. Even when it’s protected, you should only leave the cold pack on your swollen joints for 10 minutes or as long as it’s comfortable.

How Heat Therapy Helps

As you might expect, heat therapy has the opposite effect on your blood vessels. The heat results in enlarged blood vessels, which carry more nutrients and oxygen to the affected joints.

Typically, using heat can alleviate pain and swelling while encouraging healing so doctors usually recommend heat therapy for chronic conditions that can result in stiff, painful joints regularly.

Your Options And How To Use Them

When it comes to heat therapy, you can choose between dry heat and moist heat. Dry heat usually entails using a heating pad while moist heat comes from using a heated towel.