Questions and Answers

Q: On injuries such as sprains, when should you use heat and when should you use ice?

That's a common question, but an important one.... certainly worth answering again. Never use heat on a new injury — it keeps the broken blood vessels open, causing more bleeding and swelling. Instead, use ice for the first 48 hours, applying it for 20-30 minutes, several times a day. This will slow the bleeding and swelling. Then, after the broken blood vessels have started to heal, you can apply heat to bring healing nutrients to the area.

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