By using only simple supplies found around your home, you can find pain relief with heat or cold therapy. You may benefit from using heat therapy to relieve your pain, applying an ice pack for cold therapy, or from using heat and cold in combination.
To take the right approach for your pain symptoms, you need to understand the science behind using heat or cold for pain relief. Interventional pain relief specialist Dr. Nichelle Renk at Alpenglow Pain & Wellness treats patients who have neck pain, back pain, and more at her office in Anchorage, Alaska.
Heat therapy works by improving your circulation. The increased blood flow to the treated area makes heat therapy an effective treatment option for muscle pain or stiffness, and it also improves healing for damaged tissue.
Heating pads may help with sore back muscles, tension pain in your neck, and aching legs after intensive exercise. Dry heat from heating pads works as well as moist heat from sources like warm washcloths, a hot bath or hot tub.
Add Epsom salts to your hot bath for additional pain relief. The magnesium in Epsom salts can also aid in relaxing muscles and mood. Or, spend some time relaxing in a steam room or a traditional sauna for intensive whole-body moist heat therapy.
You may also benefit from professionally provided heat therapy with ultrasound energy for conditions like tendonitis. Infrared saunas use light to generate therapeutic heat, which can lessen pain and even speed up your metabolism.
You can target pain relief with local therapy, which addresses a small area of pain, while regional or whole-body treatment helps with widespread symptoms. For best results, use heat therapy for an extended amount of time, 15-20 minutes for mild pain and 30-120 minutes for more severe pain.
When should you avoid heat for pain relief? If you have an open wound, bruising, inflammation, or swelling in the painful area, don’t use heat therapy. Stop right away if you notice swelling.
Heat therapy may not be right for you if you’re living with a health condition like diabetes, dermatitis, deep vein thrombosis, multiple sclerosis, vascular disease, hypertension, or heart disease.
Some types of pain respond better to cold than heat. Using a cold pack or ice pack reduces inflammation, and often, acute issues such as sports injuries call for immediate cold therapy to minimize pain and swelling.
Medically known as cryotherapy, cold therapy reduces blood flow to the treated area. This limits inflammation and swelling, and also reduces nerve activity, which is helpful for pain relief. It’s important to take breaks from cold therapy and restore blood flow from time to time.
You can use ice packs, ice baths, or coolant sprays for cold therapy at home. You may even benefit from treatment in a whole-body cold therapy chamber.
You can also counter the results of irritation with menthol products such as topical pump sprays or ointments. Menthol creates a cooling sensation, followed by a warm one, and can soothe aches and pains in your muscles and joints due to issues like arthritis or a sprain.
You shouldn’t use cold therapy if you have a sensory disorder that makes you insensitive to cold, such as diabetes, or if you have poor circulation. Don’t use cold therapy on stiff joints or muscles.
Don’t apply ice or frozen items directly to your skin; doing so could damage your tissue. Use cold therapy for 15-20 minutes several times a day.
Depending on the nature of your pain, you may benefit from heat therapy, cold therapy, or a combination of both. For example, people who have arthritis often use both heat and cold as part of a comprehensive pain management strategy.
Dr. Renk ensures that her patients know the science behind pain relief. She arms you with easy-to-use options for at-home pain relief, as well as providing in-office interventional pain management support.
Let her know if your heat or cold therapy stops providing you with effective pain relief, and she can adjust your pain management plan.
For personalized pain management support, contact Dr. Renk at Alpenglow Pain & Wellness online or over the phone today and schedule your appointment.
