Problem of knee pain must be nipped in the bud so that it doesn’t lead to irreversible damage to your knee joint. Whether to use cold compresses or hot packs depends on the reason of your knee pain.
In case of a fresh knee injury, ice packs or cold compresses are great. It soothes the swollen tissues & numbs the pain (Have you ever experienced numb fingers in extreme cold weather?).
Do you know how ice numbs the pain? if not then here’s your answer cold pack (low temperature) does so by reducing the conduction of pain sensation along the nerve, thus giving you pain relief even without a pain killer medicine. Isn’t this interesting !! However, if not used for the right reason then ice can actually aggravate the knee pain.
Please remember, ice is not at all good if your knee joint is painful & stiff. Hot packs are very useful for stiff joints and chronic knee pains. It helps to loosen & relax the stiff muscles. It also gives relief to the tight muscles around the knee joint. Have you ever noticed how relieving hot baths are after a stressful, nerve wracking day- isn’t it !!. Heat is also not always good though. Applying it to an inflamed area can cause even more pain.
So in simple terms, use ice for fresh injuries & use heat to tackle stiff, tight muscles and chronic pains.
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