Running Tips - When To Ice And When To Heat A Running Injury
You've been out for a run and something just doesn't feel right
. You don't want to get an injury that will keep you off the roads - so you want to take care of this as soon as you get in. But, should you ice the injury or use heat on it? Here are tips for knowing which to do.
Basically running injuries will break down into two categories - acute or chronic. Acute injuries are those that have happened - up to 72 hours. During this time period, the injured area will be inflamed. Chronic injuries are those ongoing and still giving you a little problem after 4-5 days - but usually there is no inflammation.
During the acute stage of your running injury is when you want to ice. Icing the area will help numb the pain and will help with decreasing the swelling as ice constricts blood flow. You may still want to ice the area when you have a chronic injury and have re-aggravated the area. Icing will also help with muscle soreness after your longer training runs.
You should ice the injured area for no longer 10-15 minutes at a time. Then give the area time to warm back up - approximately an hour. The more times that you can repeat this cycle, the shorter period of time the healing process will take.
You want to use heat if you have an ongoing chronic injury. If you have some tender spot that keeps nagging you, you can heat to help loosen the muscles and relax the injured area. Heating the area causes blood to flow freely into the area. Only heat the area for 15-20 minutes. To heat the area, you can use a heating pad. Wet, hot towels work well, also. Make sure that you do not fall asleep on a heating pad.
Make sure that you are staying away from heat if the area is still swollen. Heating this area while it is still inflamed will actually cause you more pain as it pulls blood into the affected area and will even delay your healing process.
Heating and icing are both great ways to help with running injuries. It's just important to remember when to ice and when to use heat. Remember the basic rule of thumb is to ice the area if it is an acute injury and to heat the area if it is an ongoing chronic condition.