What Cold Therapy Can Do For You

Have you relied on a cold pack to give you relief from body aches and pains? Do you know of anyone who uses cold therapy for pain relief and other medical conditions?

If you answered yes to either question, you’re not alone. In fact, many people from all walks of life count on cold therapy for considerable pain relief and for many other reasons. Cold therapy helps relieve swelling and pain through several related mechanisms.

What are the many uses and benefits of cold therapy?

Other than relieving pain, cold therapy has many other uses. It influences tissue processes and can serve many purposes:

• Cold therapy helps decrease the rate of local metabolism. All processes are slowed down, giving your tissues the chance to recover from acute inflammatory processes.
• The cold temperature constricts blood vessels. Because of vasoconstriction, less inflammatory and pain signals are transported to the affected area.
• Cold therapy reduces swelling. Since cold reduces the caliber of blood vessels, seepage of fluid from the blood to the tissues is reduced. Swelling and edema are minimized.
• Cold packs play a big role in decreasing hemorrhage. If you have just suffered from a painful bleeding injury, cold therapy helps reduce blood flow to the injured area, reducing blood loss.
• The low temperature impairs transmission of nerve signals. This, in turn, provides much-needed analgesia in acute injuries.

  How is cold therapy applied?

  Many people use cold packs, cold compresses, and other forms of local cold therapy. However, not everyone knows how to use cold therapy properly to derive the most benefits from it. Below are the recommended guidelines for cold therapy use:
• To achieve therapeutic cold therapy, apply on the affected area of your body for about 5 to 20 minutes.
• After application, allow a period of rest. This rest period should have a duration of about 30 minutes.
• If you have muscle strains and sprains, it is recommended that you apply cold therapy during the first 24 to 48 hours.

Read on what conditions benefit from cold therapy.

Are you currently using cold therapy for pain? Has it been beneficial to you? Share your story with other readers; leave a comment!

Sources:

1. Loten C, Stokes B, Worsley D, et al. A randomised controlled trial of hot water (45 degrees C) immersion versus ice packs for pain relief in bluebottle stings. Med J Aust. Apr 3 2006;184(7):329-33. [Medline].

2. Greenstein G. Therapeutic efficacy of cold therapy after intraoral surgical procedures: a literature review. J Periodontol. May 2007;78(5):790-800. [Medline].