Ice or Heat for Sports Injury Do you know when to use ice and
when to use heat on a sports injury? Acute and Chronic Injuries
Acute injuries are sudden, sharp, traumatic injuries that occur
immediately (or within hours) and cause pain (possibly severe
pain). Most often acute injuries result from some sort of impact
or trauma such as a fall, sprain, or collision and it's pretty
obvious what caused the injury. Acute injuries also cause common
signs and symptoms of injury such as pain, tenderness, redness,
skin that is warm to the touch, swelling and inflammation. If
you have swelling, you have an acute injury. Chronic Injuries,
on the other hand, can be subtle and slow to develop. They
sometimes come and go, and may cause dull pain or soreness. They
are often the result of overuse, but sometimes develop when an
acute injury is not properly treated and doesn't heal. Icing an
injured body part is an important part of treatment. Icing
injuries can be effective for sprains, strains, overuse injuries
and bruises.