Ice and Heat; or cryotherapy and thermotherapy, are fantastic home remedies for dog back pain as they are cheap, easy to use and commonly available. But when should you use heat and when should you use ice?
When you should use ice
Ice is for injuries. It reduces the painful inflammatory response by calming the hot, inflamed, damaged tissue. The inflammation response is mostly a good thing as it helps tissue heal, but the body can get carried away so ice can mediate the response and so reduce pain. Examples are freshly pulled muscles, ligament or tendon strain.
Cold hosing is great to reduce swelling and inflammation in tendons or ligaments in the legs, and a cold gel pack wrapped in a towel is useful for other areas. Apply the cold for 10-15 minutes every 2 hours.
When you should use heat
Heat should be used chronic pain and in muscles. It is excellent for soothing stiffness and aches. Its also good to use heat on trigger points and sore muscles to ease aches and pains.
Hot packs wrapped in towels can be used on dogs and for 15-20 minutes.
A McTimoney canine treatment is also an excellent way to relieve muscle pain and spasm, with a relaxing therapeutic massage afterwards to work out those final areas of tension.
When you shouldn’t use either!
It is entirely possible to do damage when ice and heat are used incorrectly.
Ice shouldn’t be used on stiff muscles, when your dog is already cold, and directly onto trigger points. Be especially aware of this when icing a suspected pulled muscle and if your dog shows any signs of discomfort stop immediately.
Heat shouldn’t be used in the acute inflammatory phase of an injury. It can actually make the inflammation, and subsequent pain and swelling worse.
So unless your dog has had a specific sudden injury that requires ice, heat should always be used to help ease stiff aching muscles. especially along the spine. A heat pad like this is a great choice.
Please be careful when using both heat and ice on your dog and stop if any discomfort becomes apparent. Veterinary attention should be sought if symptoms persist.
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