Whats Better: Ice Or Heat For Lower Back Pain
Lower back pain is a common condition. In fact, you are likely to experience it at some point in your life. While lower back pain can be a nuisance to your everyday life, conservative treatments are usually enough to treat it successfully. Two of these treatments are hot and cold therapy. Not only are both options incredibly convenient, theyâre affordable as well.
If youâre living with lower back pain, you may be wondering which one is better. The answer is, âIt depends on the timing of your back pain as well as its type.â Keep reading to learn more.
Balancing Your Activity With Rest
Bed rest is a common initial prescription for lower back pain in some cases. It is especially true if your pain comes from an injury or re-injury. In fact, resting while applying ice packs is a time-honored way of reducing swelling in the first day or two. However, for chronic lower back pain, moving around is a much better medicine than lying around. Physical activity releases your natural endorphins, which have both mood-lifting and pain-killing properties.
Of course, it is important not to overdo your workouts before consulting with your physical therapist. Keep it simple by taking a light walk or getting some household chores done, in order to limber up your back and release those helpful endorphins. If a brace helps in relieving your pain, wear it to support your lower back as you move.
Physical therapy is an important exercise option. It delivers both the benefit of exercise and the watchful eye of a professional to make sure you are using proper technique and remaining sage. Your physical therapist can warn you about moves that risk re-injury and will work with you on both flexibility and strengthening moves. These exercises are meant to build up the muscles that support your spine, in order to ease pain on your lower back. They also help provide greater range-of-motion as you work through that back stiffness.
Ice Therapy: A Few Scenarios When Its Good For Back Pain
Ice therapy, also known as cryotherapy, is generally meant for fresh injuries. The cold of an ice pack calms inflamed, hot, red or swollen tissue.
While this is your bodys natural reaction to an injury and a component of the healing process, it can be quite painful and last longer than it needs to.
Applying a cold gel pack to your freshly injured back or some other area of the body can dull pain and bring down swelling.
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Heat Or Ice For Back Pain / Cool It Down
Ice therapy is very useful for certain types of muscular injuries. Ice will work well for back muscle pain especially in the first 48 hours following a suspected injury. Ice will reduce swelling and provide minor pain relief by numbing local tissue. Ice also slows down neurological impulses in the area forcing nerves to transmit less pain messages to the brain.
Ice will trigger a reflex response to the lower temperature, causing the body to increase circulation. This brings oxygen and nutrients to the area and helps to remove pain-causing waste products from the muscles. This makes ice a good physical treatment option for oxygen deprivation back pain.
Ice may be applied with a cold gel pack or simply ice wrapped well in a towel. Never apply ice directly to the skin. Do not keep ice on the area for longer than 20 minutes at a time. Many doctors recommend 20 minutes on, followed by a half hour off for maximum relief.
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Causes Of Back Pain During Pregnancy
As many as 80 percent of moms-to-be experience back pain at some point during their pregnancy, and the causes can vary. The main culprit is often strain on the muscles of your back caused by pregnancy weight gain and by changes in your posture due to your growing belly. As your pregnancy progresses, there is more weight on the front of your body, making you bend slightly forward. To keep you balanced, your posture changes, and you might overcorrect and lean back a little too far. The extra strain can make your back feel stiff and sore.
Weak abdominal muscles can also cause back pain. As your baby grows, your tummy muscles can stretch and weaken. These muscles play an important role in supporting your spine, so as they weaken, your back can start to hurt.
Some pregnancy hormones can also play a role. Hormones that are meant to relax the ligaments and joints of your pelvis to help your baby pass through the birth canal more easily can also loosen the joints of your back, which can cause them to overextend, leading to soreness.
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Best Types Of Cold Therapy For Lower Back Pain Relief
- Reusable Cold Packs or Compresses – these can be applied locally to the lower back area .
- Cooling Topical Gels – an alternative to ice packs and can be rubbed directly on the lower back to target and reduce inflammation.
- Ice Massage – the combination of cold therapy and massage working together. Massage balls that can be frozen are perfect for this and can also be used while stretching.
- Ice Therapy Machines – this device consists of a water basin filled with ice water + hose that delivers constant cold relief to a flexible therapy pad that can be wrapped around your lower back.
- Ice Baths – often used in sports therapy, these allow you to fully submerge your back in ice cold water temperatures for a short duration of time.
- Whole Body Chambers – with the help of liquid nitrogen, these chambers drop to around -184 degrees fahrenheit to effectively reduce inflammation along with many other benefits.
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Ice In The First 24 To 72 Hours
Generally it is best to apply cold therapy to your back in the first 24 to 72 hours following an injury, and back injuries are no different. Cold can help to reduce the inflammation and swelling caused by the injury. This in turn will reduce your pain by numbing the area through the slowing the response of the nerve endings and also decrease the tissue damage caused by the inflammation.
Cold can be applied in numerous ways: a frozen bag of vegetables , frozen gel packs, and ice cubes in a damp towel. Regardless of which option you choose, make sure to note the following precautions:
- To avoid burning the area, place a towel or tea-towel between the ice and your skin.
- Apply cold therapy for no more than 15-20 minutes at a time. You can re-apply cold therapy every hour up to 8 to 10 times per 24 hour period.
Heat Or Ice For Upper Back Pain
Both ice and heat can help upper back pain, but, like lower back pain, which to use depends on the timing and probably causes of your pain. Healthline suggests that you, use a cold pack and anti-inflammatory pain relief for the first three days after the pain starts. After that, alternate applying heat and cold to your injury.
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Adding Activity May Be Your Best Bet
The review found that advice to stay active after an injury yielded the best effects in terms of functioning and pain relief. The authors explained that staying active significantly reduced sick leave as well as a chronic disability for up to 1 year when compared with traditional medical treatment.
And, a 2006 Cochrane review entitled, “A Cochrane review of superficial heat or cold for low back pain,” found moderate evidence in a few studies for heat wrap therapy as a way to reduce pain and disability in the short term. This was true for people who were in both acute and sub-acute stages of the injury.
The researchers also found that adding exercise further reduced pain and improved functioning in study participants. Similar to the BMJ review discussed above, the Cochrane authors say that there’s not enough evidence to evaluate the effects of cold for low back pain and conflicting evidence for any differences between heat and cold for low back pain.
So for now, and into the foreseeable future, this decision is likely best made by you, the person with the back pain. Which makes your back feel better heat or ice?
- French SD1, Cameron M, Walker BF, Reggars JW, Esterman AJ. A Cochrane review of superficial heat or cold for low back pain. Spine . 2006 Apr 20 31:998-1006.
Which Is Best For You
- In regard to acute back pain, or pain you experience due to a direct injury, it is best to start with ice therapy. An acute injury is one that lasts less than a 4-week duration. By using ice first, you are lowering your bodys temperature which will reduce inflammation and swelling, constrict blood vessels and help numb the area. After doing ice therapy first, and once the inflammation has been reduced, switch to heat therapy. Using heat therapy will improve the flexibility of soft tissues, movement of muscles, and overall functionality of the injured area. Once youve changed to heat therapy, apply on and off for several hours, even days to continue improving your tissue.
- When addressing chronic back pain back pain that lasts more than a 4-week duration, you want to use heat therapy that provides constant warmth to the injured area. Examples of this include using a heating pad or a heating adhesive wrap that lays over the area, providing several hours of low-level heat therapy. When using this technique, make sure to monitor how long you are applying heat. Prolonged exposure to heat can lead to skin irritations and potentially skin damage.
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Types Of Lower Back Issues
Lower back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek medical attention. While some are more susceptible to it than others, nearly seven out of ten people¹ experience back pain at some time during their life.
The pain can make it difficult or even impossible to walk, sleep, work, or perform essential activities.
What is better for lower back pain when it comes to at-home treatmentheat or cold therapy?
Both, actually. Heat and cold therapy are beneficial and can effectively relieve different types of lower back pain. These treatments are often overlooked despite being simple, cost-effective, and practical.
Various lower back pain conditions can be treated with heat or cold therapy, including the following.
Arthritis
Arthritis is a common condition that affects the joints.
One of the most common types of arthritis that affects the lower back is osteoarthritis. It causes inflammation and stiffness in the affected area. Eventually, this could lead to pain, stiffness, and difficulty moving.
Spondylolisthesis
Spondylolisthesis is a spinal condition that can cause lower back and sometimes leg pain.
This condition occurs when vertebrae in your spine slip out of place. The spinal cord and nerve roots can become pinched when this happens, causing pain.
Structural issues
Another condition is spinal stenosis, which occurs when the space around the spinal cord narrows and pinches the nerves.
Strains and sprains
Trauma
Disease
So What Do You Do After A Back Injury
For back strain, people often use ice for the first 48 to 72 hours. Heat increases blood flow and inflammation, and it may not be a good idea at first
After those first few days, most experts recommend the use of either ice or heat, according to your preference. While researchers continue to look into the best ways to treat an acute injury, most doctors still recommend ice as the first line of defense for a back injury.
A 2011 review of studies published in the British Medical Journal Clinical Evidence evaluated 20 different categories of treatment to learn about their safety and effectiveness. Treatments included over-the-counter pain medications such as NSAIDs, acupuncture, McKenzie exercises , and temperature treatments.
The researchers were seeking answers to the following questions:
- What are the effects of oral drug treatments for acute low back pain?
- What are the effects of local injections for acute low back pain?
- What are the effects of non-drug treatments for acute low back pain?
As far as temperature studies go, the review found moderate-quality evidence that using a heat wrap 5 days after the injury may relieve pain. Just the same, the authors cited that overall they did not find enough evidence to judge the effectiveness of any type of temperature treatment.
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The Mind Game: The Effects Of Icing And Heating Are Dominated By Your Opinion
The emergency room experiment was surely dominated by placebo. The only medicine involved was reassurance: the patients expected relief, which is usually good for pain. The placebo effect is not as powerful as people think, but it was probably the only major factor affecting the outcome in this experiment.
And yet people do react quite differently to ice and heat! We often have strong preferences about this. The only real leverage hot and cold packs have is on our nervous system alarming or relaxing, soothing or irritating and that in turn is strongly determined by context and how we feel about it. A lot like back pain itself, actually.
Do Not Drop Over Your Desk
When sitting in an office chair, utilize the same good posture methods you make use of when standing. Its crucial to keep excellent posture and support your when sitting down, particularly if you do it for a number of hours per day. Select a high quality chair that provides strong assistance for your lower back, as well as see to it your knees are a little bit greater than your hips when you rest. How To Get Relief From Lower Back Pain During Pregnancy
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Think About Your Posture
When youre standing up, keep your head up and your shoulders back as much as you can.
When sitting on a chair, try to keep:
- your hips level with or slightly higher than your knees
- your bottom at the back of the chair
- your back supported by the chair
- your feet resting flat on the floor.
If you work in an office, the top of your computer screen should be set up just below eye level. Your keyboard should be at a comfortable height so your forearms are flat. Try to get up regularly so you dont get stiff.
Try not to slump when youre sitting on the sofa. Use cushions to support your back and have your feet resting on the floor. It may help to lie on your side if you are watching TV or relaxing.
Heat Therapy: Why A Heated Back Brace Is A Good Way To Get Rid Of Back Pain
Generally speaking, heat therapy is your best solution for sore, stiff or aching muscles, especially in the neck or back.
Your muscles typically respond well to heat, especially when your discomfort stems from overexertion, trigger points , spasms, cramps , bad posture, or restless leg syndrome.
Using a heating pad is also one of the best things you can do for easing pain or stiffness stemming from arthritis.
A heating pad can also soothe hurts-all-over pain or sensitivity stemming from fibromyalgia, sleep deprivation, rheumatic diseases or vitamin D deficiency, to name a few examples.
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When Do I Use Ice
Generally, use ice with an acute injury that resulted in increased inflammation, blood flow, swelling, and pain. Applying ice reduces inflammation, swelling, and pain and increases healing speed. Dr. Gross concurs, The low back is inflamed or still injured when there is pain or numbness and tingling. In those cases, use ice first.
General Cold Guidelines: Every case is different, but here are a few helpful tips:
- Duration: Apply ice for 20 minutes at a time, followed by a 40- to 60-minute break. Using ice longer can produce negative responses as your body tries to regulate it will end up increasing blood flow to the area along with inflammation and pain.
- Frequency: During the first 72 hours of an injury, use ice multiple times a day separated by 1- to 2-hour breaks.
- Buffer: Never apply ice directly to skin always protect your skin with a barrier, such as a thin towel or shirt, to prevent frostbite.
- Sensations: You will feel cold, perhaps mild burning and aching, and eventually numbness at the end of the application. This is good.
- Cold Materials: Items include ice packs, instant cold packs, ice massage, ice baths, coolant sprays, ice cubes in a towel, or even bags of frozen vegetables.
Tips When Using Heat And Ice Therapy
If you plan to regularly use heat and ice therapy, it can be helpful to have both options on hand. If you work out first thing in the morning, you can keep an electric heating pad plugged in by your bed. Wake up, get some heat on your back muscles, then dive into your workout routine. It can be helpful to keep a few different cool packs in the freezer so they will be ready for use whenever you need them. Cold showers and hot baths can also be a beneficial way of augmenting your go-to cold and heat therapies.
Whether you are doing individual cold or heat therapy or a combination of both, always remember to protect your skin. Set a timer for your therapy sessions to ensure you do not leave the ice or heat on your back for too long.
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