Search
shop

Injury treatment…ice or heat?

Often people will use medication, ice or heat, to make themselves feel better after an injury - but how do they effect the healing?
Chief Correspondent
Last updated -

Liam Goode, Senior Physiotherapist at Physo4Life (www.physio4life.co.uk) takes a look at the use of ice or heat to help treat injuries.


Most injuries (sprained joints, torn muscles), involve some level of damage to tissue and that causes you to feel pain. Often people will use medication, ice or heat, to make themselves feel better – but how do they effect the healing of an injury?

The choice is between pain and optimising your healing times. Make no mistake the human body is a slow healer at the best of times but to prevent things dragging on, ice (my preference to heat), will increase blood flow to the injury and make the blood vessels more permeable so the chemicals necessary for healing can pass through more freely. This chemical ‘exchange’ is called the inflammatory response and it is painful. That’s normal.

The ice or heat will promote the efficiency of the exchange and very possibly (but not all the time), the pain levels. Anti inflammatories (Ibuprofen etc) can help ease your pain, but they will have a slowing effect on your healing. This is because they will slow the ‘exchange’ down and ultimately lead to poor quality of healing. However, the pain will feel better.

When I get asked what people should use, my answer always leans towards ice. However, if your pain levels are too high it is perfectly reasonable to use anti inflammatories to get you through the worst of it – you can always use the ice later. Ultimately, your pain tolerance will dictate everything.

John Levison
Written by
John Levison
TRI247's Chief Correspondent, John has been involved in triathlon for well over 30 years, 15 of those writing on these pages, whilst he can also be found commentating for events across the UK.
Discover more
TRI247 podcast p/b Challenge Family episode 2
Go behind the scenes at Challenge Roth with the latest episode of the TRI247 podcast
Cadomotus Chronos triathlon cycling shoes
The triathlon cycling shoe that promises a 10-watt saving: Cadomotus Chronos Aero triathlon cycling shoes review
Challenge Family Roth
Five things you need to know about the Challenge Roth bike course
Challenge St. Pölten 2024 - image credit Jose Luis Hourcade / Challenge Family
Expert swim coach on the three most common swim mistakes age group triathletes make (and how to fix them!)
TRI-FIT VANGUARD tri suit review
The entry-level tri suit with a serious amount of performance for the price point – TRI-FIT VANGUARD review
latest News
Julie Derron wins T100 San Francisco 2025
Olympic medallist and T100 winner reveals she’s stepping up to full distance next
Sam Laidlow Challenge Roth press conference 2025
Challenge Roth 2025: Laidlow prompts groundbreaking move as Race Ranger data will be made public
Kat Matthews IRONMAN Texas Finish Line 2025
Kat Matthews and Magnus Ditlev top 70.3 Swansea fields as IRONMAN Pro Series heads to Wales
Kristian Blummenfelt Kristian Hogenhaug Casper Stornes IRONMAN Frankfurt 2025
Triathlon GOAT Mark Allen sends “great champions” message to red-hot superstar Kristian Blummenfelt
Zachary Josie bike
Age-group athlete with dwarfism says INCREDIBLE goal is “in his grasp” at Challenge Roth
triathlon on your terms
Never miss out with our triathlon alerts & digest. Get a dose of adventure & inspiration with Boundless.
The 247 Group

The home of endurance sports

Share to...