Back Pain Treatment

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The most common question regarding back pain is the use of a hot or cold treatment. Unfortunately you can be given one is better than the other because they should be used in their own instances. Let me explain things a bit better and you will understand which to use in your particular case.

Learning about spasms I found that they will cause pain and swelling and continue to get worse. Obviously the more spasms you have, the more painful it becomes. If you don’t get rid of this problem it can last for years until it’s resolved.

Both hot and cold treatments are generally used to do one thing. And that is to shock the body enough to stop the spasms from continuing their cycle. With both treatments, the body ends up sending more blood to the area, increasing the amount of oxygen and nutrients to the area as well as warming it up. Hopefully at the end of the treatment the body has calmed down and it can start to heal the affected area.

So we are still left to wonder which is better. Typically what doctors will recommend is that ice should be applied at the early stages of the pain. This helps reduce swelling where as heat will most likely encourage swelling by bring more blood to the area faster. After the swelling has gone away then it should be safe to switch to a warm treatment. Of course you should always consult a professional on your particular situation so that you aren’t doing more harm than good.

For cold treatments you can use ice, wheat bags from the freezer, or chemical cold packs. You should always make sure that there is enough fabric between the pack and your skin. This will prevent other problems from occurring. You should try to elevate the area above your heart to help slow down the blood to the area. This is a problem with your back so it would be best to lie on your stomach if possible.

Hot treatments can be fun. If you have a hot tub or access to one, it will offer a lot of relaxing relief. Just make sure you can enter and exit it safely. You wouldn’t want to get in and end up falling trying to get out, breaking your back in half. There are other modern technologies using heated lamps and infrared treatments but they can be quite costly. In comparison a microwave bag can sometimes be just as effective.

These are not long term solutions and if you do have ongoing problems you should consult your doctor right away. In order to prevent these back pains again you should spend some time with exercise to strengthen the muscles.