Frequently Asked Questions
When should I use cold therapy?
For recent
injuries: Cold therapy is
often used during the first 48 hours of an injury. Place Soft-Ice® on the injured area using a
cloth or any of our cold therapy wraps to help protect your skin from
freezer burn or frostbite. Most doctors recommend using cold therapy
for 20 minute intervals to relieve pain and reduce swelling.
Cold therapy can
also be effective beyond 48 hours and with chronic pain. Personal
preference often dictates the use of cold or heat therapy in these
situations. See our many cold therapy and
compression wraps.
How long does your product stay cold?
Our therapy cold packs
are not designed
to "stay cold". They are designed to stay soft and absorb heat quickly.
Ice therapy requires that as much heat is drawn from the effected area
within the first twenty minutes as possible. Soft-Ice® optimizes therapy by
providing approximately 20 minutes of effective cold therapy.
How long will the packs last?
SoftIce® is designed to transfer
heat with no chemical reactions taking place. The pack will work as
long as there is no physical damage to it.
Are heat and ice therapy effective at providing relief
of pain?
Yes. From The Johns
Hopkins White Papers Arthritis (1995 P.9) "Warm compresses may relieve
pain and ease stiffness by relaxing muscles. Heat treatments may also
improve subsequent ability to exercise. In some people, however,
application of cold packs provides better relief of pain, especially
when pain and inflammation follow activity. Warm compresses or ice
should be applied for no longer than 20 minutes. Ice should be wrapped
in a towel and
removed when the area becomes numb."
See our Soft Ice cold & hot therapy
products
Yes. From The Johns
Hopkins White Papers Low Back Pain (1995 P.26) "Pain relief may be
obtained from the immediate application of ice after a sudden back
injury that causes localized pain. In addition to relieving pain, ice
reduces internal bleeding and swelling by decreasing blood flow.
Commercial cold packs should be used for 10 to 20 minutes every 2
waking hours for 48 hours. In order to avoid frostbite, ice
applications should not be left in place long enough to numb the skin.
It is best to wait 48 hours before applying heat after an acute back
injury. However, muscle relaxation from a hot, moist compress may ease
chronic back pain or a more widespread backache that starts some time
after a back injury." See our Back Pain
Therapy Kit!
Yes. From The Johns
Hopkins White Papers Arthritis- Treatment of Bursitis (1995 P.47, 48)
"A suspected case of bursitis can safely be treated at home. Apply ice
packs to the affected area for 20 minutes every hour or two to help
reduce pain and swelling. After 48 hours, use heat to stimulate blood
flow and help ease the pain."
When should I use moist
heat therapy?
Moist heat therapy is
often used with chronic injuries. Moist heat increases circulation and
speeds recovery by bringing in fresh blood cells and removing wastes.
Moist heat therapy can be effective in treating back pain caused by
muscle strains and spasms. Arthritic and thematic pain is, also, often
temporarily relieved with the use of moist heat. Apply the Thera-Temp® moist heat pack to the
injured area for twenty minutes, repeating as needed. See our microwaveable moist heat wraps.
For recent
injuries:
Thera-Temp®
moist heat packs can be used after the first 48 hours and after
swelling has gone down. It is usually a good idea to use both ice and
heat therapy during this time, alternating ice and heat therapy
sessions. Therapy sessions should last for twenty minutes intervals.
What is the difference between moist and dry heat?
Moist and dry heat are
the most common therapeutic treatments for superficial heat therapy.
However, moist heat is more effective than dry heat in providing deeper
penetration of
the tissue at the same temperatures. Moist heat also has additional
capacity to change the tissue temperature rapidly and obtain more
vigorous
response from temperature receptors. Patients often report greater
relief of symptoms from moist heat. See our microwaveable
moist heat wraps.
How does moist and dry heat compare?
Comparison of moist and
dry heat therapy indicates that the advantages of moist heat over dry
heat are:
Moist heat is more
effective than dry heat in deeper tissue heating
Moist heat penetrates
more than dry heat at the same temperature
Moist heat has
additional capacity to change the tissue temperature rapidly and obtain
more vigorous response from temperature receptors
Patients often report
greater relief of symptoms from moist heat
Moist heat is preferred
over dry heat as a treatment or component of the treatment for the
following conditions:
Pain,
stiffness and secondary muscle spasm in chronic arthritis
Acute
temporomandibular joint closed lock condition
Pain
and muscle spasm on posterior neck and back in patients with ankylosing
spondolytis
Pain
and muscle tension in the acute and chronic phases of regional
myofascial pain syndrome in
children
Moist heat can be
effective in temporary relief of pain for the following conditions:
- Degenerative
Joint Diseases
- Sub acute and
Chronic Arthritis Conditions
- Diseases of
Temporomandiblar Joint
- Periathritis and
Bursitis
- Soft Tissue
Trauma, Traumatic Arthritis
See our microwaveable
moist heat wraps.
I get migraines and
headaches, can your products help?
Cold therapy, applied to
the head or neck, has been proven to help reduce migraine headache
pain. Some people
also find temporary relief with moist heat therapy to the head
or neck. We recommend our Headache and
Migraine
kit to find the combination that works best for you.
I
have arthritis, what would you suggest?
Sub acute and Chronic
Arthritic Conditions: Superficial heat applications are valuable in
relieving pain, stiffness, and secondary muscle spasm in conditions
such as chronic arthritis. Ice therapy, in some people, helps relieve
the pain.
From Arthritis Today,
July-Aug 2000, "Drug-Free, All Natural Power Over Pain" pages 35-38
"Packing' Heat - Just about everybody can use a quick fix for pain now
and then. Exports told us that applications of warm, moist heat may do
the trick." See our Thera-Temp®
microwaveable moist heat.
From Arthritis Today,
July-Aug 2000, "Drug-Free, All Natural Power Over Pain" pages 35-38
"Give it the Cold Shoulder - If swollen inflamed joints are making life
miserable, then just chill out, experts say. Applying something cold to
those angry spots can decrease pain and swelling by restricting the
blood vessels and preventing fluids from leaking into the surrounding
tissues." Soft Ice cold & hot therapy products
Can hot and cold
therapy be effective for repetitive strain injuries such as Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome, Trigger
Finger, Tennis Elbow, and etc.?
Yes, see the following
references.
From Postgraduate
Medicine (Oct. 1997) Repetitive Strain Injury. The Goff Group "Use of
ice packs, massage, NSAIDs, or topical pain relief agent is often
helpful."
Roller
Ice cold therapy massage
From Prime Care (June
1994) Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine,
U of Arizona Tucson "Most occupational musculoskeletal disorders
respond to conservative measures such as ice or heat."
From American Family
Physician (Feb. 1992) Occupational Repetitive Strain Injury University
of Alberta, Edmonton "Common injuries involving the elbow, wrist and
hand include epicondylitis, carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar nerve
entrapment. Conservative treatment consisting of rest, application of
ice or heat and anti-inflammatory drugs is usually effective."
Cold &
Hot Wrist Wraps; Cold
& Hot Elbow Wraps
References:
(Partial Listing)
Nanneman,.
D.: Thermal Modalities: Heat and Cold. A Review of Physiologic Effects
with Clinical Applications. Clinical applications. AAOHN Journal, 39
(2): 70-75, 1991.
Lehmann,
J. F., Warren, C. G., and Scham, S. M.: Therapeutic Heat and Cold.
Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research, March- April (99): 207-245,
1974.
Chung,
S. C., Kim, H. S.: The Effect of the stabilization splint on the TMJ
closed lock. Cranio. 11 (2): 95-101, 1993.
Tepperman,
P. S., Devlin, M.: Therapeutic Heat and Cold. A practitioner’s guide.
Postgraduate Medicine. 73 (1): 69-76, 1983.
Lindsey,
B.: Patient Care Guidelines.: Cold and heat application in
muscloskeletal injury. J. Emergency Nursing. 16 (1): 54-56, 1990.
Simpson,
C. F.: Heat, Cold, or Both? Am. J. Nursery. February: 271-272, 1983.
Johns
Hopkins Medical Institutions. Baltimore, MD. White Papers. 1995.
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