When you have a headache, ice and heat can be beneficial to help relieve the headache. Many people have heard of and tried both of these modalities to help their pain, however, I have found that many people don’t have a good grasp on the how, where, when, and why of using ice and heat. In this post where will discuss the basics so you can get the most relief with using ice or heat or both.
Ice Ice Baby
Ice can be a powerful pain reliever when used appropriately. It is my go to modality for patients that have headaches due to occipital neuralgia (that is, nerve pain). Headaches that start in the back of the head and wrap around to the temples or forehead may be due to nerve irritability of the occipital nerves and this type of headache responds very well to ice. To get relief, wrap a pillowcase or thin towel around a soft icepack (there are great gel based ice packs on Amazon). Apply the icepack to the back of the head for 10-15 minutes. Going past 15 minutes could cause the body to push more fluid into the area, which could end up causing you more pain. Another area to ice that is quite helpful is the top of the head.
Heating Things Up
When headaches are derived from cervical muscles, applying a wet heat can be very beneficial. Examples of wet or moist heat are a hot shower, soaking in a warm bath, and using a warm wet towel. Moist heat has been shown to be more beneficial because it penetrates deeper into the muscles than dry heat (eg. heating pad). There are no time limits per se with heat as there is with ice, however, precautions should be taken to prevent burns. To utilize heat, heat the muscles of your neck, not the back of the head as you would with ice.
Takeaways:
- Use Ice:
- When pain is more intense, sharp or burning
- Apply to the back of the head
- Apply for no more than 15 minutes
- Use Heat:
- When pain is more of an ache
- Apply to the neck
- Apply for at least 10 minutes
- Make sure you don’t burn yourself
- Use moist heat if possible
The Headache Therapist 