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Injury treatment: When to ice and when to heat

Injury treatment: Ice or Heat?

Thank you to Chirotherapy for this special guest post.

When to use Ice

injury_treatment_ice
Use ice if it's within 5 minutes of the injury occurring. It should be used up to 48 hours after the injury.

If you can recall a mechanism for injury, use ice.
Tip: keep an icepack or frozen bag of peas in the freezer in case of an emergency. You could also use ice in a plastic bag.

  1. Wrap cold source in a tea towel or similar. Place this directly on to the skin above the injured area. Make sure clothing is removed from the affected area.
  2. With injuries that have just occurred, compress and elevate the area where possible.
  3. Leave on for 15-25 minutes depending on the area. Leave on for a longer time for deeper or bigger areas like the hips or lower back and less for more shallow areas like the neck and fingers.
  4. Remove and rest from the ice for as long as you applied it.
  5. Repeat until you have repeated the cycle 4 times.
  6. Use 2-3 times a day for up to 48 hours after the original injury.

When to use Heat

injury_treatment_heat
Heat is a very soothing therapy that can be used to ease tense muscles by improving circulation. Use heat when the issue has been around for more than 48 hours.
Do not use heat if there are altered sensations, pain, numbness or pins and needles running down the legs or arms.

  1. Heat wheat pack or similar item according to instructions.
  2. Wrap heat source in tea towel or similar or by itself over clothing.
  3. Leave on for 20 minutes.
  4. Further repeats are not necessary.

NB: Do not use heat or cold therapy if you cannot feel the difference between hot and cold, like in the case of nerve damage.

In the case of torticollis or “wry neck”, you can alternate between heat and cold as per the ice protocol except swap between the ice and heat sources.

If in doubt, use ice.

USING ICE AND HEAT CAN BURN YOU SO BE SURE TO REMOVE THE ICE/HEAT BEFORE ANY DAMAGE OCCURS.

Thanks again to Chirotherapy for this special guest post.

S L
UPDATE: it's been almost 5 years since I left this review. We're still going strong! I'm still training with Tim 💪 My now 10-year-old son is still doing Ninjas classes 👍 Great local gym with a very welcoming environment. I've been training with Tim for almost 2 years and I always enjoyed his personalised approach which helped me to achieve my goals. Tim is always very encouraging and makes each training session challenging, but rewarding. Apart from training adults, Tim is excellent working with kids and my 5.5yo son is always looking forward for his next Little Ninjas classes, which he started as a 3-year-old. Kids classes are always fun, with a mix of games and various exercises teaching self-awareness and safety. I would definitely recommend FunFit to everyone.
S L
2022-05-16
Neil G
Lovely atmosphere. It’s a great place to spend time with your child. Tim and his family are some of the nicest people you could hope to meet. It’s perfect for fun - plus introduces genuine concepts of discipline to youngsters.
Neil G
2020-10-30
Karen Wakil
Fantastic mix of fitness, self-defence and life skills in a fun environment. Builds confidence, respect and strength - both physical and mental - in the children. Highly recommend!
Karen Wakil
2020-10-27
Estelle Demontrond-Box
My boy really enjoys Tim's teenagers' fitness classes: Tim is very encouraging and motivating and has a good sense of humour! The class is very energetic and fun! Highly recommend!
Estelle Demontrond-Box
2020-10-16
Edward Kim
Tim always keeps the workouts fresh and interesting and was always committed to safety. Workouts were always challenging but catered to the level you were at. Never a boring session and looked forward to them always. Great community feel and music too! Only reason I'm not going anymore is because I moved to the other side of Sydney.
Edward Kim
2020-06-03
Ruth Hawkins
Both my 4 year old girl and 6 year boy absolutely love the classes. They've done lots of other activities over the years but there's something about being a little ninja that makes them light up and they enjoy every minute of the class.
Ruth Hawkins
2020-02-04
Michael Darcy
Great classes. My daughter loves them. They're a good mix of fun, fitness, knowledge and skills. An awesome find.
Michael Darcy
2019-12-30
Pablo Lillo
Very friendly people and staff, classes are fun and engaging!
Pablo Lillo
2019-12-25
Vfr Doug
My 6 year old son has been attending Mini Ninjas for almost a year and loves it! Tim is a natural with kids, he has the right balance of humour, fun and discipline to keep the whole class motivated and engaged. As well as having a great time and a good workout, our son is gaining physical confidence, self discipline and respect for others. Having trained in different martial art clubs when I was younger, I can see Tim has all the right qualities, values and knowledge you would want to be teaching our children.
Vfr Doug
2019-10-24
Zoe Jenkins
My son joined mini ninja class as a 3 years old. He has been excited to go every week. Tim is extremely good with engaging young kids with various activities. The whole lesson is filled with kids' joy and laugh. It's also great entertainment for parents to watch on the side. I can see my son has been improving in protecting himself with all the self defence actions he learned from Tim, which is very important for kids safety.
Zoe Jenkins
2019-09-26