Hot or Cold?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Not a true medical question (as in a substitute for professional advice for a serious issue) but a “home remedy” sort of thing.

If HEAT is to improve circulation & COLD is anti-inflammatory, then which is the right one to use on muscle cramps? Or should I try both?

As an explanation, I started physical therapy this week (for hip/leg/back problems) & had a session at lunchtime today. My back has…noticed this evening.

Thanks for any & all help/advice.
(And my apologies if this is the wrong forum, but IMHO didn’t seem quite right & I didn’t think it was important enough to warrent GQ.)

2

heat - and bananas for potassium :wink:

3

In my hand, I’ve got some hot tea. It’s HOT HOT HOT! See? Yeow! So tell me, is this tea HOT HOT HOT or cold? HOT HOT HOT or cold?

4

Heat. I’ve found that cold can worsen or even induce stiff/cramped muscles.

5

Is it iced tea?

6

I’d go with heat on a cramp, and as already stated by another poster, bananas for potassium…For muscle sprains, soaking the injured part in hot and then cold water, about ten minutes both ways helps with the healing process…Doctor told me this once when I had a bad sprain in my foot…I tried it and damned if it worked like a charm…

7

Mmmmm…Iced tea. :stuck_out_tongue:

8

No! It’s HOT TEA!

9

For shoulder/back PT related pain, I took lots of ibuprofin (significantly more than OTC levels OK’d by an MD) right before a session and iced right after excercising. Injuries are cold for 48 hours, heat thereafter, but with PT, I assume that you are doing excercises on a daily or every other day situation so you never really get 48 hours from injury. Ask your doctor about a reasonable dose of ibuprofin for your particular weight and health, as I will not tell you the dosage recommended for me. Also, if you are going back, be sure to tell your PT how you felt after the session since this can be informative to what is the source of your pain or may indicate a wider problem than originally treated and they may adapt the routine. I had a PT tell me one time that if you are sore your getting better, but pain is not PT.