Heat or Ice?

[Tamy]

I know the basics of heat and ice on injuries...ice in the first day or so to reduce swelling, heat later to stimulate healing.  I use both ice and heat to keep my overuse injuries (knees mostly but also shins) in check.  I'm wondering though how you can know which is better to use when you're running back to back days.  Am I better off icing because the stress from running was done in the last 24 hours or should I use heat because I don't think I have any swelling and may benefit from the heat stimulation?

[Joe Furse]

My first impression is that if you are having to ice/heat treat consistently every day due to nagging injuries you might want to take a look at your training and make some tweaks.  I don't think you should have to be icing every day.  Looking at your blog, instead of running a long ways every other day, I'd maybe recommend cutting the daily mileage in half, but running every day.  Those rest days every other day won't do any good if you are overtraining on the days you do run--it takes more than one day to recover from one day of "too much."  I've learned that the hard way several times  By running every day at a lower mileage per day you won't be putting your body through too much stress at one time and you'll avoid a lot of trouble while still getting the same mileage per week.  Plus, it allows you to get in a much better groove physically and mentally if you just do it every day.  Once your body gets used to running every day and you are feeling good, then you can start increasing the mileage at a comfortable rate. 

In answer to your question of ice vs. heat:  Both are good, but if I had to choose one or the other, I'd go with ice just about every time. Heat is a great supplement, but doesn't tend to be as effective on its own.  Ideally, if you are going to use both you want to ice first, followed immediately by heat.  My favorite method is to take an ice bath for 15 minutes and then drain the tub and switch it for water as hot as I can stand it (which isn't that hot, right after icing) for the same amount of time.  For more localized treatment, ice friction therapy (rubbing a chunk of ice on the affected area for 3-5 minutes), followed by a heating pad might be the ticket.  The idea is that you first constrict your blood vessels with the cold, and then when your muscles warm up, either naturally or by artificial heat, your blood vessels dilate, purging out all the damaged tissue and dead stuff, and bringing in nutrients to facilitate the rebuilding process.  The blood vessels will not dilate nearly as much with heat therapy alone, so that is why ice is better.  Heat alone can be a good pre-workout treatment.

Anyway, that's my suggestion.  Take it for what it's worth.  Good luck!

[Tamy]

Hi Joe,

Thanks for your thoughtful comments.  I have done the daily run thing, just haven't had time for it this time around.

I'll try your suggestions on ice and heat.

Thanks again,
Tamy

[Kam]

Tamy,

Something that may help would be finding softer surfaces to do some of your running.  Laps around a soccer field or golf course, dirt roads and treadmills are all much softer options than roadwork.  I'm sure you've already thought of this, but keep an eye on your shoe mileage.  The plastics and foams lose their ability to recover over the miles.  This is a recipe for disaster as your mileage increases in preparation for a marathon, and your shoes are doing less cushioning for you.

Good luck with the rest of your training.

[Tamy]

Thanks Kam,

All good suggestions.

Tamy

[Joe Furse]

Yeah as a full time engineering student with a job on the side I totally understand not having time sometimes.  It's tough.  Especially in the winter with the shorter days.  But if at all possible the more you can spread your running out over every day the better.  No judgment here though.  I know how it goes.  And it can be really tough to find "soft" places to run in the winter depending on where you're at, but if you can find some trails or something, that will work wonders for you as well like Kam suggested.  Plus your shoes will actually last longer in my experience, and with shoe prices the way they are that can be a nice bonus!

[Tamy]

Joe,

I agree.  And I do have plenty of trails and bike paths that are paved rather than cement where I live.  I also believe it's good to diversify surfaces: run a little on hard surfaces to keep tough but also on soft surfaces to prevent injuries.

Thanks for the comments. 

Tamy