If it was anything like the muscle pain I had last year, ice will make it better - heat will make it worse. Ten minutes with the ice on, twenty with it off. Rotate a couple of ice packs so they stay fresh.

I think ice is for an acute injury -- to reduce swelling. Heat is for older aches and pains. I'd say go for the heat.

And ibuprofen or naproxen sodium (Aleve) and plain rest is a good idea. Rest is crucial for muscle injuries.

no heat. Use cold. Bags of frozen peas or frozen corn make great ice packs.

I'm consuming Advil regularly, so I've got those bases covered.)

Smacks head.

Yeah, LoriFLA's got it - the heating pad is your friend.

For what you describe, I would try heat too. Heat then gentle stretching. Be really careful. Backs are not to be fucked with.

Tiger Balm makes patches now, which are (imo) painfully good. Got my last batch at a walgreens

Yeah, I've used the patches before. But when you're aiming for total coverage, the cream is better. I've learned to rub it on with a paper towel instead of my hands, to avoid the inevitable finger-in-eye incidents.

I had problems with my neck (muscles were too tense and it was cutting off bloodflow to my arms) and my physiotherapist said to use a heating pad WHILE LYING DOWN! He stressed that the muscles need to be as relaxed as possible before applying heat. The heat will help to relax them further. He said that I had to be lying down to prevent the muscles from "getting stuck" in the "bad" position. I can't remember his wording exactly but that was the gist.

So to summarize: heat while lying down in a relaxed position.

Ice for joints, heat for muscles. Heat.

LoriFLA's right according to sports physiologists. Ice in the first 24 hours of an injury, to reduce inflammation. Heat following that to induce muscle loosening and relaxation.

Heat for this kind of back pain. If you pull a muscle, or twist something use ice. Ice is used to reduce swelling.

What Miko said :P

Try hot baths. Otherwise, you may use a heating pad and alternate it with an ice pack. I hope your back feels better!

Second, third, tenth whatever heat.

"the inevitable finger-in-eye incidents" there are other dangers too, as my ex-wife and I discovered years ago.

Passion flower capsules before you go to sleep. DO NOT TAKE AND DRIVE.

Heat is not always the best for muscle spasm, though for backs my physio told me ice for the first 24, heat after, spending as much time as possible lying on your back with your legs over a chair, doing regular pelvic tilts to help loosen the back. Pulling one knee up to your chest at a time and holding for a count of 15 also helps. Also, these days my understanding is that it's 20 minutes on, 20 off for ice.

When my neck went into major immobilizing spasms regularly, my massage therapist explained the ice/heat thing thusly: The pain of prolonged muscle tension is due to your muscles producing a lot of waste while the blood vessels are constricted, causing the waste to build up. Heat appears to work because it's more important for your body to respond to heat (possible burning) than to ache, so your nerves override the ache in favour of the heat. The problem with this is that it's temporary and may cause you to exacerbate your injury, as you don't feel injured even though you are. Ice penetrates deeper and causes the blood vessels to dilate, allowing the waste to clear.

As a fellow bad-back sufferer, my heart goes out to you, pupster. Once your work is done, I suggest liberal internal applications of scotch or some such medicinal whiskey, combined with ibuprofen (NOT Tylenol). Bendy straws are helpful for this if you're lying prone.