Is it better to apply heat or ice when you have knee pain?

Knee pain is very common, when it comes to **, the first thing that comes to mind is a hot compress, because it can promote blood circulation, but even if the pain is indeed relieved at that time, the pain continues the next day, and even the pain worsens, why? Because not all joint pain can be compressed, and if the hot compress is used incorrectly, it will aggravate the condition.

Cold and hot compresses are completely different mechanisms of action:

Cold compresses will cause blood vessels to constrict, slow down the blood flow of muscles, and prolonged cold compresses will cause muscle spasms, but they can stop bleeding, eliminate synovial inflammation, and promote the recovery and reconstruction of collagen tissue in cartilage and tendons.

On the contrary, hot compresses will cause blood vessels to dilate, muscle synovial tissue congestion, although it can relieve muscle spasms, but will aggravate inflammation and bleeding, including osteoarthritis, reverse ** for many years, acute knee joint severe pain after cold, people feel that this time can be hot compress, but after hot compress it is more swollen, at this time to see orthopedics, sometimes joint puncture, puncture out of the synovial fluid, can be bloody, it can be seen, no matter what the cause of acute joint injury, synovium is congested, but also fragile, When exposed to heat, it will break and bleed non-stop.

It can be seen that in the vast majority of acute phase injuries and at least half of chronic strain injuries, there is nothing wrong with cold compresses, and vice versa can be terrible. Only half of the cases of chronic joint pain can be treated with warm compresses.

It should be well compressed, which can promote blood circulation and relieve pain. Ice compresses, on the other hand, have the opposite effect, not only promoting blood circulation, but also a piercing pain and a cold sensation, increasing the pain in the knee joint. Ice is not good.

It depends on the specific reason for the pain, it is recommended not to apply it casually, go to the hospital and ask the doctor to determine the cause and then according to the doctor's advice.

Ice on the knee joint**, there must be indications, if necessary, then ice**, for the knee joint without disease or indications**, it is easy to cause knee injury. In this case, ice compression in the acute phase can promote the constriction of blood vessels, which is conducive to hemostasis and prevent excessive hematoma, which is beneficial to the later recovery, can accelerate the organization and evolution of hematoma, and is conducive to the rapid recovery of tissues. However, when there is no indication for the use of ice on the knee joint**, frequent ice will cause frequent constriction of the blood vessels in the knee joint, resulting in damage to the blood vessels.

Frequent ice compress will often lead to poor blood circulation in tissues, long-term hypoxia and ischemia, and over time will cause inflammatory reactions in local tissues, resulting in pathological changes such as hyperplasia, hypertrophy, adhesion, fibrosis, etc., which will affect the function of the knee joint.

Applying ice to your knees after exercise has the following benefits.

After strenuous physical exercise, the knee joint is bound to bear a very large weight, which will lead to different degrees of damage to the knee joint, especially the damage of the cartilage surface of the knee joint, so the appropriate ice compress after exercise can reduce the local inflammatory response, reduce the inflammatory response of the knee joint surface, knee meniscus and ligaments, thereby reducing the pain symptoms, and can also reduce the swelling and pain, and can also inhibit the infiltration of inflammatory cells.

Therefore, it is quite necessary to apply ice to the knee joint after exercise.

Benefits: Cold compresses can constrict blood vessels, reduce local congestion, inhibit sensory nerves, reduce pain, relieve symptoms, and have the effects of cooling, hemostasis, analgesia and swelling.

Disadvantages: The disadvantage of cold compresses is that they are in direct contact with ice cubes for too long and cause localized** frostbite, just like we are in a cold environment and lack of warmth and frostbite. Therefore, in general, cold compresses are applied with ice packs to avoid direct frostbite**.

In the process of exercise, many people are prone to sprains without paying attention, the part that is easy to be injured during the exercise is the knee, the knee usually needs to bear a relatively large force, and some people do not pay attention to the warmth of the knee, and it is often easy to have knee pain. What is the difference between cold and hot compresses?

1. Cold or hot compress for knee pain

If it is knee pain caused by sports injury or trauma, then a cold compress is required within 24-48 hours, and a hot compress is used after 48 hours. In the acute swelling phase of acute arthritis, local pain or tendonitis, it is recommended to apply a cold compress for more than 24 hours after the body has reduced its swelling. If you have chronic arthritis or rheumatic joint pain, then you need a warm compress.

2. Why do you apply cold compresses to traumatic knee pain?

Trauma can easily lead to acute sprains of joints or ligaments and cause knee pain, and if you apply a hot compress, it will cause further bleeding in the body, which will increase the swelling, so it is recommended to use ice packs to apply cold compresses.

Warm compresses may be considered 24 hours after an acute sprain when the body enters a stable phase and bleeding stops. However, for severe sprains or even fractures, the body is still swollen significantly after 24 hours, and it is not recommended to apply hot compresses at this time, but cold compresses can be continued.

3. Why do chronic arthritis apply hot compresses?

Knee pain caused by chronic arthritis can immediately dilate and congest blood vessels in the process of hot compress, accelerate the body's metabolism, and promote the dissipation and absorption of inflammation. After applying heat, the waste products in the muscles are also excreted faster, reducing fatigue, relieving stiffness and spasms, and making the muscles relaxed and comfortable.

4. The difference between cold compress and hot compress

1. Cold compress can constrict blood vessels, reduce local congestion, inhibit sensory nerves, reduce pain, relieve symptoms, and have the effects of cooling, hemostasis, analgesia and swelling.

Cold compresses should be applied within 24 hours of injury. The sooner you start after an injury, the better.

2. The main function of hot compress is to promote the dilatation of local blood vessels, improve local blood circulation and lymphatic circulation, facilitate the absorption of congestion and exudate, and have the effects of eliminating decay and swelling, relieving pain, reducing adhesion and promoting wound healing.

For ligament tears such as contusions, sprains, muscle and soft tissue injuries, warm compresses must be applied 1 to 2 days after the injury.

5. Tips

For the attack period of osteoarthritis of the knee joint in the middle-aged and elderly, that is, the joint is swelling than usual with severe pain, the patient should be cautious when taking care of himself, and in the case of not being able to clear the cold or hot compress, it is best not to do anything, just rest and rest, and then find a doctor in time to help diagnose and **.

6. How to apply plaster for knee pain

1. First wipe and dry the affected area with a hot towel or sedan lead ginger slices, and then spread out the folded plaster, put it on a low fire to soften, and stick it to the knee pain.

2. The plaster should be avoided from places with more hair, otherwise it will not stick to it, and the second is that it will cause pain when tearing up the hair.

3. Generally, a plaster should not exceed 24 hours at most, and if the time is long, not only the drug has lost its effectiveness, but also it is not good for the first time.

4. After removing the plaster, there is residue left on the body, which can be repeatedly dipped with the removed plaster, and the medicine mark can be removed soon.

It is generally accepted that cold compresses should be applied early in sports injuries, and warm compresses can be used after 24 hours.

However, whether cold or hot, there are some contraindications to be aware of. For example, when the injured area is blistered or broken, forming an "open wound", cold compresses are not appropriate; If there is suspicion of intra-organ bleeding, hot compresses are contraindicated; Soft tissue contusions or joint sprains are also contraindicated in the early stages of warm compresses, otherwise the condition will be aggravated.

Sports damage to the knee, of course, a cold compress is good