Ice or Heat

[OilersBaby]

Okay..does anyone know when you're supposed to apply an ice pack and when you are supposed to use heat to alleviate pain? My back has been hurting me a lot lately and I got a massage this morning. She told me to ice it but then another good friend told me to get a heating pad. It's both my lower back and my upper back and its worse than any back related pain Ive ever had.

So now Im confused. Any help would be awesome cuz my lower back is KILLING me to the point where it hurts to sit down. Thanks in advance.

[Drunk Skunk]

I use a product called Biofreeze when my shoulder bothers me, it works very well. For muscles, I've always used an icepack.

[OilersBaby]

I have used Biofreeze..its the green stuff...my massage therapist used it on me this morning. At home, I use Icy Hot. Both seem to work well. BioFreeze smells better than IcyHot though.

[Phanuthier]

Since its 3am over there and there won't be any replies for a while, my stab at this: ice is for keeping swelling down, heat is to relax and loosen tissues. I'd follow the doc rather then your friend, he's probably worried about swelling. But I'm just guessing here, if someone actually knows what they're talking about, ignore this post.

[OilersBaby]

^^Thanks. Man sitting down kills. Going to the Oilers-Sharks game last night was painful...in more than one way haha.

[Rathji]

I was in physio to help my knee a few years back and this is what I recall. It may not be right and I may have warped it in my brain for my own evil purposes (whatever they may be).

Ice reduces inflamation by reducing bloodflow. Swelling, the main indicator of inflation, needs to be reduced for your body to heal properly (and to reduce pain and to prevent further agrivation of the injury)

Heat increases bloodflow. Blood helps in heal damaged tissues. However as stated above, increased bloodflow increases inflamation so if there is swelling then heat can be damaging (or at the very least increase pain).

So to sum it up, and remember I may remember this totally wrong, if you have muscle damage you wont have much swelling and you should use heat. If you have tendon damage or damage that has alot of inflamation, indicated by swelling or general redness, then you want to use ice.

With my injury, which was MCL strain / bruise on the femur underneath the knee cap, heat was really bad since it would increase swelling, cause me more pain, and cause more damage to the area when I walked due to tissues being rammed/squished into places they shouldn't be.

With my back pain, if it is muscular, I would suggest heat. If it is tendon/bone/nerve related with alot of redness then I would suggest cold.

Since it doesn't appear you have been to an actual health care professional regarding this matter, I would probably go see a Chiropractor. The only thing a 'real' doctor is going to do is put you up on pain pills and bed rest to fix your back while a Chiropractor is going to fix any isssues with the alignment of your spine, give you a crazy massage and tell you to get alot of excercise to loosen your back muscles. To me the choice is clear, but one thing is certain a massuse cannot diagnose back injuries with any sort of reliablity, so even if you would rather see a doctor it is better than nothing.

[BuzzardsWife]

Always use ice for back pain. I have to tell you something Oilersbaby. I know some people with disagree with me, but I went to Dr. Shepard in Kensington a while back now, for active release therapy for my back, and he literally 'cured' me of years and years of pain. I completely swear by him..and I have never recommended anyone so highly for anything in my life!

[pope04]

Originally Posted by OilersBaby

Okay..does anyone know when you're supposed to apply an ice pack and when you are supposed to use heat to alleviate pain? My back has been hurting me a lot lately and I got a massage this morning. She told me to ice it but then another good friend told me to get a heating pad. It's both my lower back and my upper back and its worse than any back related pain Ive ever had.

So now Im confused. Any help would be awesome cuz my lower back is KILLING me to the point where it hurts to sit down. Thanks in advance.

I have problems with my sacroiliac joint (lower back/hip/butt area on belt line). I've got a little ice pack that that I use when it flares up. Just be careful: My wife once was given a little promotional ice pack that looks like a triangle of swiss cheese. A couple of years ago, I helped my buddy build his garage, and two days later I couldn't get out of bed. I used that triangle ice pack constantly for a day or two, and I sort of "burned" myself with it. I now have a permanent red triangle on my rump.

[pope04]

Originally Posted by BuzzardsWife

Always use ice for back pain. I have to tell you something Oilersbaby. I know some people with disagree with me, but I went to Dr. Shepard in Kensington a while back now, for active release therapy for my back, and he literally 'cured' me of years and years of pain. I completely swear by him..and I have never recommended anyone so highly for anything in my life!

A chiropractor really helped me when my SI went out. I literally hobbled into the office and walked (hmmmm, I guess limped) out.

I've heard good things about active release, too.

[OilersBaby]

Good advice so far. For some reason my husband thinks that chiropracters are going to ruin your back because they mess around with your bones. is it true that once you go you have to keep on going or the alignment of your bones is going to be messed up?

[MrMastodonFarm]

When my back hurts I don't use heat or cold. I try to just keep my back straight. Stand up straight or sit up straight.

Chiropractors are a farce.

[stang]

Icyhot works for Shaq




Seriously though, I put my back out for the first time ever last week, and I went to see a Dr here in Lloyd, he wasnt really a chiropractor, he is an Active life Pysician...

I went on friday, and rocked out to Metallica last night no problems... and before I couldnt stand for more then an hour without having to sit.

I guess that doesnt help you much, but I would ask around in SV and try and get recommendations on who is good.

[OilersBaby]

Originally Posted by stang

Icyhot works for Shaq




Seriously though, I put my back out for the first time ever last week, and I went to see a Dr here in Lloyd, he wasnt really a chiropractor, he is an Active life Pysician...

I went on friday, and rocked out to Metallica last night no problems... and before I couldnt stand for more then an hour without having to sit.

I guess that doesnt help you much, but I would ask around in SV and try and get recommendations on who is good.

Wait, what's an active life physician again? I'm sure there is one or several in San Jose/San Francisco...since you mentioned that yours really wasn't a chiropracter, my husband won't get all opinionated about it. For some reason, he is afraid of chirpracters.

[stang]

Originally Posted by OilersBaby

Wait, what's an active life physician again? I'm sure there is one or several in San Jose/San Francisco...since you mentioned that yours really wasn't a chiropracter, my husband won't get all opinionated about it. For some reason, he is afraid of chirpracters.

For the Dr I went to its pretty much a chiroprator... LOL

But he doesnt just crack you into place and kick you out... stretches and back exercises are part of his deal too.

EDIT:I forgot, they also do sports massages and diets/weight loss stuff like that.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

I've done the chiropractic thing and the physiotherapy angle as well. Chiropractic is very good for temporary relief of pain--it's almost like magic in that sense. But my feeling is that it doesn't help with the underlying issue, because most often back pain is muscular in origin, not skeletal--i.e. you have trunk muscles that are not pulling their weight, so to speak, and others that overtighten to compensate.

I'm a long-time back pain sufferer. My experience is this: start with heat, and then after 10 minutes, spend an hour or so (yes, an hour) stretching your lower back out, until you start to feel some relief from the pressure of the back pain. Then use cold afterward, which should bring you some pretty serious relief by numbing the whole area.

I'd also recommend an exercise regimen that focuses on core strength--yoga or pilates, maybe. Power yoga works great for me.

Of course, these things can last for years. It's not a lot of fun. (my back hurts right now, actually!)

[pope04]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Chiropractors are a farce.

I used to reside in this camp as well. I must've found a good one because he's sure helped me. He's been at it for over twenty years, and stretching and massage are part of his deal, too.

[Titan]

I don't want to get into it too deeply but my wife is a chiro. It is not a farce but like most things there are good ones and bad ones. The government has approved them and pays for treatment. That is not something that is to be taken lightly. A Chiro usuually has four years of undergrad plus four years of chiro school and the fourth year is 12 months long.

When you think of the abuse you put your body through the idea of it needing ongoing work makes some sense. You go to the dentist annually right? You see your eye doctor on a regular basis.

Some chiros claim some stuff that has not been proven but back pain is what they are trained for and are best at. When my wife went to school in Toronto the first couple of years were basically the same as the U of T Med school curriculum. We know this because a lot of her professors were actually faculty at U of T.

The pain is from tight muscles but they are tight from the skeletal elements being out of whack and the muscle is being pulled to the point it should not be. That is my layman's understanding of it. If you have a long history or other factors maybe you won't get immediate relief but many people do find benefits very soon.

Just my 2 cents.

[Titan]

Also, my understanding is you should ice for the first 24-48 hours 20 minutes on 20 minutes off. After that you can use heat but I have found that for other than nice feeling it does not help a lot unless you also stretch as IFF said.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

I've done the chiropractic thing and the physiotherapy angle as well. Chiropractic is very good for temporary relief of pain--it's almost like magic in that sense. But my feeling is that it doesn't help with the underlying issue, because most often back pain is muscular in origin, not skeletal--i.e. you have trunk muscles that are not pulling their weight, so to speak, and others that overtighten to compensate.

I'm a long-time back pain sufferer. My experience is this: start with heat, and then after 10 minutes, spend an hour or so (yes, an hour) stretching your lower back out, until you start to feel some relief from the pressure of the back pain. Then use cold afterward, which should bring you some pretty serious relief by numbing the whole area.

I'd also recommend an exercise regimen that focuses on core strength--yoga or pilates, maybe. Power yoga works great for me.

Of course, these things can last for years. It's not a lot of fun. (my back hurts right now, actually!)

This post deserves a red square!

Most peoples back problem stem from bad muscular support. If you are one of these people then a chiropractor will help you, but as mentioned earlier in this thread you need to make your back stronger to avoid constantly going to the chiropractor.

If your back/core is strong and your bad back is due to an injury, then you really don't need to be going to the chiropractor all that often once the injury is treated.

Also, when I was in physio for my knee I found out that stretching can reduce almost all my back problems. I see a chiropractor once or twice a year, mostly due to neck pain from sitting at computer and sleeping funny.

[Rerun]

Anybody who thinks chiropractors are quacks (I used to think that once too) has obviously never had an serious back pain.

I remember once my back had been bothering me for a few days... nothing really serious but it definitely ached and hurt when I moved a certain way. Well, one day, I went to work and was sitting at my desk, my back was hurting... but what the heck... no big deal. I knew eventually it would heal and I'd be ok again. After sitting down for a couple of hours, I went to stand up.... and I got this HUGE back spasm. I swear to God it felt like somebody hit me in the small of my back with a 2x4. It hurt so much it dropped me to my knees. I tried to stand up and I couldn't. I eventually got up by using the desk to pull me up but there was no way I could stand up straight. I was so hunched over my back was parallel to the floor and my knees were bent too.

Thank God there was a Chiropractor on the same floor as my office. I hobbled/crawled to him and begged him to help me get some relief. Needless to say, he helped me a lot.
After he got done working on me I was able to stand up straight. I was still plenty sore, but no way I was in pain like I was before.