It is my understanding that Ice is for swelling or redness or inflammation.
Heat is for chronic muscle pain.

But, I don't really know what doctors say about it.

For me, I use heating pads on my body and I use Ice on my head.

Usually ice is recommended directly after an injury for 48 hours to reduce swelling. Ice seems to be particularly good for headaches. I pretty much can't tolerate ice unless it is burning hot outside, or sometimes I'll take a hot bath and use a ice pack on my head. Since you can tolerate cold, there is something to be said for alternating between cold and heat. Here's a little piece about this:

http://www.ehow.com/about_5572364_alternating-heat-cold-treatment.html

I had some severe back spasms and I went from cold to hot and I recovered in record time.

My rule is: Ice for nerve-related or inflammation-related pain (like a bad bruise or a freshly torn muscle, back in my athletic days), also sprains, strains. Heat is for tight muscles, aches, and stimulating blood flow, so I use it for cramps particularly, no matter where.

I find that I can really unkink some nasty stuff by putting ice on one side and heat on th eother of a spot that's troublesome---find the complementary muscle pairs and trigger points, and hit one with ice while heating the other, take fifteen minutes off, and do fifteen again of ice on what you heated first, and heat on what had ice first. It confuses the he** outta nerve signals and sometimes I can get long-running muscle knots to ease up.

That said, my neurologist showed me all the right places to ice for my particuarly issues, and so did my physiatrist, and gave me little body charts to use to remind me. So that's worht asking a doc about.

Hope that made sense, I'm pretty worn out all of a sudden.

Complementary---oppositional----like your chest muscles around your collarbone versus the neck/upper back muscles--- the groin in front and the side of the butt cheek (obturator) on the backsdie---that kind of thing.

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I'm seeing my doctor next month and will talk about it with him. He's a GP but has several other fibro patients and seems to understand my pain.

My massage therapist just told me yesterday that both hot and cold are good for sore muscles.

I use heat for the run of the mill fibro pain, the achey stuff.

When I've over used a leg muscle and it's screaming, usually heat doesn't reduce the pain and ice is better.

I've got quite a collection of ice packs. One super sized to span my entire back.

Good luck!

I go with what works at the time for that specific area - sometimes it is ice and sometimes it is heat and sometimes I alternate between the two.

Usually for me - nerve type pain responds better to ice. In the summer it is hard for me to use heat even with the air on - I cant even tolerate a hot shower - between perimenapause and the regular fibro sensitivity I have to heat and cold. Lately I have ice on my leg/hip and the Heating pad on my ribs.

As previously stated, cold is generally indicated for inflammation and swelling, and heat for muscle aches, spasms and cramping. With that being said you have to experiment to see what works best for you. I cannot tolerate the cold and get relief from heating pads and hot blankets for the all over muscle aching pain. I only use ice for inflammation (like the injury to my rotator cuff) or for head pain.

hi i have two distinct types of pain one i need heat and one ice, your body kind of tells you so if it helps just do what feels right thats how i gauge it

When I had physical therapy for my shoulder a year or two ago, I asked the therapist about my fibro pains and she told me to use whichever made me feel better and that there were no hard and fast rules about it in this situation. She said to just use the one that makes you feel the best. I find that the ice works best on my spine (for lumbar spondylolysis and osteoarthritis inflammation) and sometimes on my hands when they feel hot and swollen (RA). But for my fibro pain I find that heat works best.

Sometimes when I am in a lot of pain from head to toe I get my heated blanket and it seems to help a little! Never tried ice before but I would think that would really stiffen muscles

I too get a lot of pain, way worse, when it rains, even my pain meds do not work! You just have to get through it. I can tell two days ahead at least, when it is going to rain, when the BPressure gets below 30 that is when my pain is at it's worse.
Do you know of anyone that has outer ear cartilage pain? Both of my ears hurt and wake me in the night! And are so sore to touch. Is this another weird fibro pain?

Neecie, I don't know anyone with outer ear cartilage pain but maybe you should start a topic about it. From what I've seen in my short time on this site, there's usually someone who has experience with whatever a person is suffering with.