Heat Therapy: When and How to Use Heat for Pain Relief

Last week, we explored the benefits of ice therapy for acute injuries and inflammation in those crucial first hours after injury.

Now, let's warm things up with a comprehensive guide to heat therapy - a valuable treatment approach for managing ongoing pain and supporting recovery

Understanding Heat Therapy

Heat therapy plays a vital role in managing subacute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions. Whether you're dealing with persistent back pain, muscle stiffness, or recovering from an injury, understanding when and how to apply heat can make a significant difference in your recovery journey.

How Does Heat Therapy Work?

Heat therapy supports your body's natural healing processes by:
• Increasing blood flow and metabolic activity in healing cells
• Boosting nutrient supply to injured tissues
• Enhancing muscle function through improved fiber recruitment
• Improving strength and mobility
• Increasing tissue and connective tissue elasticity
• Optimizing muscle flexibility for better function
• Enhancing tissue oxygenation
• Activating thermoreceptors to reduce pain signals to your brain

Evidence-Based Benefits

What Research Tells Us

Research has shown heat therapy to be effective for various conditions:

• Low Back Pain Heat therapy may help with acute, subacute, and chronic non-specific low back pain, providing:
  • • Short-term pain relief
    • Reduced disability
    • Improved strength when combined with other treatments

Joint and Muscle Conditions Heat therapy shows benefits for:

• Non-acute tendinosis
• Osteoarthritis pain management
• Strains and sprains (during subacute and chronic phases)

Before exercise — heat therapy can improve physical function, range of motion and flexibility, reducing risk of muscle strains or stiffness.

Research has also found that using heat therapy a few hours before intense physical activity reduces pain and improves function

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) While evidence varies, heat therapy may help manage post-exercise muscle soreness. The evidence is conflicting here.

Some studies have found heat therapy superior to ice therapy, others have found that both are as equally effective, others have found heat therapy is better for pain relief within the first 24 hours, and ice therapy is more effective after 48 hours, while others have found alternating heat and cold is effective. In the absence of definitive evidence, it may be best to trial different approaches and find what works best for you.

Dysmenorrhoea - heat therapy is effective for many women experiencing period pain

Are there any contraindications to using heat?

Heat therapy should be avoided:

• Immediately following acute trauma because it can cause an over-exuberant inflammatory response, potentially increasing tissue damage and prolonging recovery
• Active autoimmune conditions
• Skin infections
• Malignancies
• Inflammatory conditions, such as inflammatory joint pain
• Impaired peripheral sensitivity, such as diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Pregnancy

Some important points to remember when using heat therapy:

40° C is considered safe and effective. 42° C has been found to increase blood flow significantly compared to 40° C, but this is approaching the maximum thermal tolerance for many people.

Above 42° C amino acids, that make up proteins, are known to break down, so avoid heat above 42° C. Regularly check skin to avoid injury.

Generally, 20 minutes is a sufficient duration for application, but this can vary due to different tissue types. For example, thicker layers of body fat over certain body parts may require longer times.

Ice or Heat: Making the Right Choice

The choice between ice and heat therapy depends on your specific condition and timing. Ice works best for fresh injuries and inflammation control, while heat supports ongoing recovery and chronic conditions.

Not sure which is right for you?

Our experienced team at Brunswick Chiropractic can help create a treatment plan tailored to your needs. Book your appointment at (03) 9388 1233 to start your recovery journey