If you suffer from aches, pains, strains, and sprains, foot Ice Packs are here to help with cool relief.
With a large selection of ice packs in the market, finding one that fits your needs is not that easy. Things to consider before buying a cold therapy pack for your feet include size, freeze time, and flexibility.
We review ice packs that use a variety of different cold retaining compounds, from traditional ice packs to innovative models that conform to the body for a perfect fit.
Best Foot Ice Packs
1. Ice Pack (3-Piece Set) By TrekPoof
2. Rester’s Choice Ice Pack for Injuries
3. NatraCure Cold Therapy Wrap (Regular) with 14″ Strap
4. Cold & Hot Therapy Wrap
5. Gel Ice Cold Packs
6. NatraCure Cold Therapy Socks
7. Relief Expert Ankle Foot Ice Pack Wrap for Injuries
Hot vs Cold Therapy
If you’ve ever pulled a muscle or over-exerted yourself you’ve probably applied a heating pad or ice pack to the affected area to relieve the pain.
Depending on the location, type of injury, and how recently it occurred, your treatment may have made the pain worse or even slowed recovery time.
Properly understanding the benefits of each is paramount to relieving pain and speeding recovery.
What are the Benefits of Cold Therapy?
Cold therapy, also known as cryotherapy, is one of the most common recommendations by doctors for injury prevention and recovery.
As a general guideline, sudden acute injuries like a sprained ankle, muscle tear, bruise, or inflammation should be treated with cold therapy as soon as possible following the injury.
Applying ice immediately after an injury or physical trauma constricts blood flow and slows bleeding and swelling.
This also has the effect of numbing the nerve endings to reduce the amount of pain felt and reduce muscle spasms. Cold therapy should not be applied before exercise or strenuous activity.
What are the Benefits of Hot Therapy?
Having the opposite effect of Cold therapy which constricts and slows blood flow, Hot therapy increases blood flow, effectively relaxing muscles and easing movement.
Hot therapy can also be used before exercise to improve mobility by loosening muscles and increasing joint elasticity. Once the swelling of an injury has subsided, hot therapy will stimulate blood flow to the affected areas and will promote healing and speed recovery of damaged tissue.
Application of Cold Therapy
The application of cold therapy is to reduce inflammation, which is the main cause of pain in arthritis sufferers. It accomplishes this by constricting the blood vessels of the muscles to decrease the flow of blood.
It also works to lessen swelling and pain by numbing the pain receptors in the brain. Want professional machines for cold therapy, have a look at cold compression machines.
Cold therapy also has the result of slowing the production of synovial joint fluid, a fluid that the body produces excess amounts of in arthritic persons, causing further pain.
Applying cold therapy to the areas should be limited to between 15 and 20 minutes. This application should be performed as many as 10 times in a single day.
Remember to always place a towel between the ice pack and the skin, direct contact can cause frostbite and numbness without providing any real pain relief. It’s important to note people diagnosed with nerve damage, Raynaud’s Syndrome, or Cold allergic conditions should avoid ice therapies.
A perfect product that has the ability to give either hot or cold therapy is this full wrist wrap found on Amazon. It has great reviews and is a solid and inexpensive way to relieve pain.
Application of Heat Therapy
Heat therapy has numerous positive effects such as relaxing muscles, lubricating joints, relieving muscle and joint stiffness, and easing muscle spasms. It’s very important to note that excessive heat should not be used, a “hot” pack should be warm to the touch.
Like cold therapy, the application of heat is an easy and inexpensive way to relieve pain from arthritis. By warming, the blood vessels of the affected area will cause the muscles to dilate and increase the flow of oxygen and nutrients.
Joint stiffness can be reduced by the application of heat therapy. It can reduce the sensitivity of the pain receptors to the brain.
Applying heat therapy to the areas should be limited to between 15 and 20 minutes. For deeper tissues, longer applications will be needed.
Heat therapy should also not be used for areas that are bruised or swollen, this situation is better suited for cold therapy. Other situations where heat should not be used are people with Diabetes, deep vein thrombosis, dermatitis, or an open wound.
