What Is Better to Put on a Pulled Hamstring: Ice or Heat?

If you are playing a sport like softball, volleyball or soccer or you are doing chores around the house and you feel a twinge in your thigh that borders on sharp pain, you may have suffered a pulled hamstring muscle. There are basic ways to treat this injury and they inolve ice and heat.

  1. Rest Your Injury

    • The first thing you must do after pulling your hamstring is get off your feet. Nothing will turn a hamstring pull into a hamstring tear more quickly than trying to "tough it out" and going about your business. You need to get off your feet for a period of 24 to 48 hours and you need to let others help you if you are in that position. Stay off your feet as much as possible.

    Ice the Injury

    • When you pull your hamstring, it is inflamed, sore and swollen. While you are resting the injury, you will need to ice the injury. Use a large ice pack or a bag of ice for 15 minutes of every waking hour during the first 24 hours after the injury. This will keep swelling and discomfort down. You may want to take an over-the-counter pain killer like ibuprofen, aspirin or naproxen, but you must put ice on the hamstring. Continue the ice treatment in the second 24 hours after the injury. However, you can go down to one ice pack or ice bag every two waking hours.

    Heating Pad

    • Once you have passed the 24-hour mark after the injury has occurred, the ice pack treatments should have relieved much of the swelling. This is helping your recovery. To make sure that your recovery continues, put a heating pad on the injured hamstring for about 10 to 15 minutes at medium heat every two hours in the second 24 hours after the injury. At this point you will be alternating ice and heat treatments every other hour. The heat treatment will stimulate blood flow to the area and help you to regain strength and mobility.