Do I apply HEAT or ICE for my injury?!
As a physiotherapist, many of my patients ask if they should be using heat or ice for their injuries… what about RICE or POLICE?
The new way to better recover from an acute injury that is characterised by swelling, pain and reduction in movement is to show it some PEACE & LOVE. Let’s help you understand why.
For acute injuries PEACE & LOVE is recommended for the care and recovery of injuries:
PEACE
P – Protect: Unload the injured area for up to 48 hours. Use pain as a guide for the next couple of days to determine how much you should be doing. However, limit complete rest as it does not help the healing process.
E – Elevate: This technique is old school, its risk free so there’s no harm in elevating the injured area if possible.
A – Avoid anti-inflammatories and ice: Some inflammation is good, we need inflammation for the healing process of the injured tissue. This process involves flushing out damaged tissue in order for the repair process to begin. Whereas, anti-inflammatories and ice can stop this process from occurring.
C – Compress: Compression can help with controlling swelling; however, it should not be tight to a point where it is limiting movement or blood flow.
E – Educate: As practitioners, it is our job to educate our patients of what their injury is, how long it will take to recover and the process of how we can get them back to what they love doing. Whether it be soccer, rock climbing or just doing their regular walks.
LOVE
L – Load: Acute injuries require a certain amount of load/activity to promote repair and remodelling of the injured tissue. This is where we build the capacity of the injured tissue with the goal of returning to activity and prevent it from occurring again.
O – Optimism: It’s frustrating to be injured but is important to stay positive. This is where making SMART goals can come in handy to keep track of your progress and possible regressions. Setting goals gives you an idea of where you should be in your recovery and any possible adjustments you need to make.
V – Vascularisation: Pain free cardiovascular exercise increases blood flow, thus promoting tissue repair.
E – Exercise: Rehabilitation is key to the recovery of injuries. Practitioners should provide you with the exercises needed to restore movement, increase strength and tailor your exercise program to what your goal is. We make these exercises specific to what you need to get back to and our goal is to prevent the injury from happening again.
If you’ve noticed, heat and ice are not involved in the above process. So when does it come into play?
Personally, I usually only advise patients to use heat or ice when it aids in pain reduction or helps them move comfortably throughout the day.
Jess Mañez
Physiotherapist