“Is ice or heat better for neck pain?”
I have neck pain and I want to treat it at home. Is ice or heat better for neck pain?
5 Answers
Depends . If you have inflammation ice . If it’s a acute pain ice . If it’s tightness and stress related heat . But it’s safest to start with ice and slowly go to heat .
Thank you for reaching out. It really depends on what is going on in your neck. I would suggest getting an examination and potentially xrays if necessary. Ice will bring down inflammation and reduce pain. Heat will soothe the muscle/soft tissue short term. If you would like to schedule an appointment, please go to www.HealthFromWithinstl.com
If it's a new injury, then you could use ice for 15 minutes at a time and per hour. If it's longer than moist heat should be best.
ICE, never heat.
All the research shows that the best results come from a patient preference for pain relief when it comes to ice vs. heat. So, if you like heat choose heat. If you like ice choose ice.
