Heat or Ice for Psoriatic Arthritis?

We have had some bad weather here recently. Each storm makes my joints hurt more and more.

Trying heat or ice when they hurt like that had crossed my mind before. I have always wanted to know which is the best to use. I asked my doctor, and he told me to talk to my rheumatologist for the best guidance on that issue.

I decided to sit down and write him an email with some of my questions. I sometimes can't think of everything I want to say when I am in the room with him. I wonder if it makes a difference or if you should use both.

After I sent the message, I wondered how long it would take before someone in his office got back to me. My doctor has a statement in his email that a response could take up to 48 hours. I don't like the wait time when I am hurting but there is not much I can do but wait for a response.

Alternating heat and ice for joint pain

Luckily, it's been an hour and a half. My email notification just went off, and it is a response from my care team.

I am a bit excited to see if there is a true answer. Looks like the doctor says it's both! He said that if the pain is in a joint, it might need ice to stop swelling and heat to free up the joint.

He says to alternate between 20 minutes of ice and 15 minutes off. Next, I can switch to heat 20 min on and 15 min off. I am a little bit surprised by the answer.

I figured if there was swelling heat, it would make it worse. The doctor tells me that heat can cause muscles and ligaments to relax, and ice can cause them to tighten.

In matters of the spine, it seems to depend on how much swelling there is. He suggested using ice first.

Finding relief

Well, this is in my knee, so I am going to try ice first. The cold feels nice.

I feel like the swelling is receding. I can move it with less pain. I do have some arthritis in my neck. I am also going to try ice there.

Looks like that does not have the same effect. I am going to try heat instead. That seems to have helped a great deal.

How odd that it is so different yet it's the same body. The saying still holds true: what works for one might not work for the other.

There have been days recently where I have had to use both pain and swelling. My body sometimes aches when it rains, and those are the times I need the heat.

This knowledge has been great for me. I hope it inspires you to ask your doctor what they think will work best for you. If you want to let me know what you use, feel free to drop it in the comments section.