Sports Injuries: Should You Use Heat Or Cold?
Weightlifters, like many other athletes, often suffer injuries to muscles, tendons, ligaments, or other soft tissues. Some injuries come and go in relatively short order. Other injuries hang around—they never quite heal and are easily aggravated by further activity. But whether an injury is acute or chronic, it requires quick and proper care if you want to minimize your downtime. Some of the more commonly prescribed treatments are the application of cold and ice (cryotherapy) or heat (thermotherapy). Since these treatment methods don't require a medical prescription and are easily accessible with minimal risks, athletes use them frequently. The question is, which is best for a given injury: heat or cold? How Pain Signals Work When tissue is damaged, nerves send messages to the brain that are perceived as pain. Simultaneously, chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters begin a reflex that may lead to muscle spasms in the surrounding area. These spasms ca...