When to use cold therapy?

Cold packs reduce the inflammation localized at the injured site.

The URL you provided explains it: http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=4483

Are you questioning the basis of their recommendation?

I would like to know on what happen if I apply cold packs or ice bags to injured areas for more than 20 minutes / over a few hours. Why do they recommend on less than 20 minutes? what kind of damage to injured area if I apply over a few hours?

Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you very much for any suggestions :>

Reduced blood flow results with over exposure, leading to blood being shunted away from the injured site. In addition, blood flow slows down. The premise behind using an ice pack is the reduction of pain.

Referring to this statement, "Excessive use of cold can cause tissue damage.", I would like to know on how tissue is damage with excessive use of cold, would tissue be died due to lack of oxygen with slower blood flow? How do I know and how do I feel with excessive use of cold?

Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you very much for any suggestions :>


http://www.healthline.com/health/chronic-pain/treating-pain-with-heat-and-cold#Cold3

Inadequate blood circulation to an area for an extended period of time stops cellular processes from occurring.

Under Excessive use of cold, I would like to know on whether this situation would put cell into sleep mode or die slowly.  Furthermore, slowing the blood flow would reduce the inflammation localized at the injured site, but after 48 hours, what happen to this injured site with cold packs? would inflammation only occur within 24 to 48 hours after an injury?  How can I confirm whether inflammation is gone or not before apply heat pack?

Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you very much for any suggestions :>

Cells don't go to sleep, once their growth is stunned, they die. If the ice pack is kept on for an extended period of time, damage would occur in that tissue. Inflammation occurs for as long as the injury persists. Once the tissue heals, inflammation reduces naturally.

"Cold slows down blood flow to an injury, thereby reducing pain and swelling. Cold therapy slows circulation, reducing inflammation, muscle spasm, and pain. It should be used if the area is swollen or bruised."

"Heat opens up blood vessels, which increases blood flow and supplies oxygen and nutrients to reduce pain in joints and relax sore muscles, ligaments, and tendons. The warmth also decreases muscle spasms and can increase range of motion. Applying superficial heat to your body can improve the flexibility of tendons and ligaments, reduce muscle spasms, and alleviate pain."

Referring to above statement, Cold therapy reduces inflammation, but you mention that Inflammation occurs for as long as the injury persists. I would like to know on whether Heat therapy should be applied before or after injury treated.  Since cold therapy does not treat injury, I would like to know on how to treat injury after Cold therapy.

Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you very much for any suggestions :>

Indeed it does, as long as it's applied.

By the way, what's quoted in blue and red is very accurate.

Ice and heat treatment, are known as cryotherapy and thermotherapy, respectively.

Usage ultimately depends on the situations. For example, ice can aggravate muscle spasms and trigger points, which are often present in low back and neck pain - the very condition people often try to treat with ice. Severe spasm and trigger points can be spectacularly painful, like knife wounds, and are easily mistaken for "ice-able" injury and inflammation. But if you ice these tissues, woe is you - the muscles are likely to contract even harder, and the trigger points burn and ache even more acutely. This mistake is made particularly often with low back pain and neck pain.

Both ice and heat are pointless or worse when unwanted: icing when you’re already shivering, or heating when you’re already sweating. The brain may interpret an excess of either one as a threat - and when brains think there’s a threat, they may also amp up the pain.

I get confused now, do you have any guideline on when to use ice or heat for handling muscle spasm and trigger points based on following 2 cases?

Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you very much for any suggestions :>

Case 1:
I run 3 days per weeks and strain is developed on my tendon under my feet, as long as I keep my running schedule and this pain is never gone away.

Case 2:
I walk careless and sprained my ankle.

Requires ice.


Requires better shoes! lol

I like this article: https://www.painscience.com/articles/ice-heat-confusion.php

Shoes type: Nike Pegasus, which offer zoom air in front and normal cushion at the back. Any suggestions on what kind of shoes I should look for?

I always wear shoes during running, yesterday, after running, referring to linked image, I feel pain  on No. 34 area, and try ice approach, and feel less painful, so I would like to know on why my feet always get injury [ice is working on reducing pain] after running, would ice approach speed up the healing process? so I still can keep my running schedule.  Furthermore, I would like to know on what happen in No. 34 area during running and how to solve this issue, I get this painful issue over 10 years.

Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you very much for any suggestions :>

Do you feel that pain while walking, or does it happen only after a run? Shoes with more cushion should reduce the after-effect, but I don't think that pain is coming from poor footwear. You might have plantar fasciitis.