Ice for Three Days, Then Heat: My Rule After Surgery, and the Warning About Numb Skin
October 28, 2026 | Patient Resources, Post-Surgical Care, Recovery
Woman’s World asked doctors whether ice or heat works better and had me review the piece. The magazine answer is about sore muscles and stiff joints. Mine is about the first week after surgery: ice vasoconstricts, so it goes on first, every hour, for three days; heat vasodilates and brings blood, oxygen, growth factors and repair cells, so it goes on after. And one rule that keeps people out of trouble on numb skin.
