Shoulder Pain – Ice or Heat? (which is better for pain relief)

July 9, 2021

If you’ve been struggling with shoulder pain, you might be wondering if it’s better to use ice for pain relief vs. using heat for pain relief.

The answer to that question really depends on two things:

– What’s causing your shoulder pain?

– What are you hoping to accomplish?

For example, if you have rotator cuff tendonitis, you might favor ice. And if you have rotator cuff tendinosis, you might favor heat.

At other times, it might be beneficial to use BOTH ice and heat in the same day.

Again, it really comes down to the cause of your shoulder pain, as well as what you hope the ice/heat will do for you.

In this video, I’ll explain how to determine which will work best for you, including how to determine if you should be using both heat and ice.

I hope it helps you reduce your shoulder pain!

If you have additional questions about how to completely eliminate shoulder pain, feel free to email me directly at Luke@GordonPhysicalTherapy.com 

– Luke Gordon, DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy/Owner of Gordon Physical Therapy)