Cold Therapy and Heat Therapy for Pain

Heat therapy and cold therapy both serve to relieve pain; however, they have different indications and act via different mechanisms.

Although relatively safe, both heat therapy and cold therapy have certain contraindications. Some conditions will benefit greatly from cold therapy but will suffer adverse effects from heat therapy. Other conditions are better off with heat therapy. Others still can benefit from either, achieving effective pain relief from both temperature modalities.

How is cold therapy different from heat therapy?

It is important to understand how cold therapy and heat therapy differ from each other:

• Stiff joints will benefit more from heat therapy. Cold therapy may increase joint stiffness.
• Heat therapy, especially when involving large areas of the body, may decrease blood pressure as blood pools in the warmed areas. Cold therapy may increase blood pressure. Therefore, hypertensive patients have an added benefit of lowered BP from heat therapy, while cold therapy is useful in situations like acute hemorrhage where a stable blood pressure is vital.
  To read the rest of the list, read heat therapy versus cold therapy.

When is cold therapy contraindicated?

Some conditions benefit more from cold therapy than heat therapy. Others, however, should stay away from cold therapy:

• A person suffering from hypertension should use cold therapy with extreme caution. Cold therapy constricts the blood vessels, raising the blood pressure. This poses a risk for you if you are already hypertensive.
• People with Raynaud’s disease should avoid cold therapy. Raynaud’s disease is a condition that gets worse when blood vessels constrict.
• If you have rheumatoid arthritis, cold therapy will barely be beneficial. Consequently, heat therapy is a better recommendation.
• People suffering from blood vessel impairment, such as frostbite and arteriosclerosis, should stay away from cold therapy modalities. Further blood vessel constriction may complicate the situation.
• There are people who are “allergic” to cold; they should avoid cold therapy to prevent anaphylactic shock. Also known as cold urticaria or cold allergy, this is a potentially dangerous condition that may end in anaphylaxis.
• People who have paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria are not allowed to use cold therapy. When exposed to cold, these people exhibit blood in their urine.
• For similar reasons, people with cryoglubulinemia should avoid cold therapy.
  What conditions will benefit more from cold therapy? Read how heat therapy versus cold therapy affect conditions in different ways.

Has cold therapy given you relief from pain? Share your story and leave a comment below!