Mmmm…a nice warm bath to ease your aching back. It sounds so good and usually feels good while you’re soaking, but the fact of the matter is that heat is not always the best prescription for your aches and pains. Not only is it not the best, but it can actually be detrimental in some cases, actually increasing swelling and pain of the area.
Whenever someone has been injured, either by a specific incident or just by overusing a joint or muscle, the body usually responds with inflammation, which usually causes some sort of discomfort. The first thing you should always do is to apply ice to the area for at least 20 minutes or until the area is numb. This can be repeated every 2-4 hours depending on the severity of the injury.
I have often heard it said that when you injure something, you should ice for the first 48 hours and then change to heat after that time. In a perfect world, and in a situation in which the area is not irritated after the injury, this may work just fine. However, most of us tend to use an injured area before it has completely healed or recovered. In that case, you should continue to use the ice, as long as you continue to have pain.
A good rule of thumb to follow is this: if something is just stiff and tight, heat should work just fine. However, if something is actually giving you pain, always try ice first, as pain is usually a good indication of some sort of inflammatory process and ice will assist in decreasing this response, as well as help to prevent the return of pain upon use.
Lynne Breister Johnson, PT