What is best for a strained back I have hear ice for 24 hours then heat any help would be appreciated?

I think the ice is to reduce blood flow to the injured tissue to cool it as inflamed tissue gets warmer than normal tissue, and so the injured tissue won't expand from the inflammation. Later the heat is applied to encourage blood flow to the injured tissue so it will heal.

A doctor told me the 200 milligram dosage in a standard Advil tablet is the over-the-counter dosage, and that 400 milligram dosage is the doctor-prescribed dosage. The warnings on the bottle tell you to take no more than 6 tablets every 24 hours (they say it one every 4 to 6 hours).

But don't rely on the Advil to completely remove all pain soon after you take the drug, because :

The ibuprofen does two things.

One - it helps to relieve the pain.

Two - it is a NSAID (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug) which helps reduce swelling of injured tissue.

When you strained you back you overloaded something, injuring the tissue in the back. Injured tissue gets inflamed and it expands in size, putting pressure on nerves.

That tissue takes time to heal, and you really need to lie down for three days so the tissue has a chance to heal. Everytime you stand up the weight of your torso will bear down on your spinal column which also puts pressure on the injured tissue, thus continuing the pain and slowing down the healing of the injured tissue. You have to eat, but you don't have to eat much as you will be lying in bed most of the time. The less you eat, the less time you spend sitting up and putting the weight of your torso on the spine and the injured tissue.

When you don't do anything but lie in bed, you are putting as little pressure on the injured tissue as is possible, and should therefore use as little Advil as possible, which would be one dose every 4 hours.

Don't take a shower or bath for three days, you really don't need to. Someone can give you a sponge bath if needed.

And stay away from the computer and off the Internet !!

Repeat - at least three days ! Five days to be rid of most of the pain and two weeks before you regain your full range of motion.

The real maximum for Advil is listed on the bottle.

As for the icing, continue to ice for 10 mins every hour as needed . You can do this for as many daysas you are having pain or anytime the pain flares up. We keep a large bag of unpopped popcorn in the freezer to use as an ice pack. You could use a large unopened bag of rice too

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If you use heat for relief only use the heat for 10-15 mins at a time, each hour.

This is the recommendation of my physical therapist.