Heat For Pain Relief

Heat For Pain Relief

Using heat for pain relief

Therapeutic heating — “thermotherapy” for therapy geeks, the opposite of its trendier cousin, cryotherapy — is more useful than most people realize, mainly because muscle is a source of more and worse pain than most people realize, and muscle
pain seems to respond well to heat. Muscle pain caused by over-exertion, muscle cramps and spams, and especially trigger points (muscle “knots”) are all common and sometimes severe, but often mistaken for other kinds of problems.

This therapeutic staple has mostly been ignored by science: its benefits are far from proven, and obviously it’s no miracle cure. Nevertheless, it’s probably doing more than “just” relieving symptoms. Everyone should understand heating the same way
everyone knows how to put on a Band-Aid: it is a cheap, drugless way of taking the edge off an amazing array of common painful problems, especially neck and back pain, and maybe more.

What heat is for: mostly non-inflammatory body pain

Heat is primarily for relaxation, comfort/reassurance and taking the edge off several kinds of body pain. These kinds of pain are mostly duller and persistent pains associated with stiffness, cramping, and/or sensitivity. Which can be loosely categorized in the following types:

• Acute soreness from over-exertion; the pain you get after the first ski trip of the season, soreness from the gym, etc.
• Stiffness and pain in specific areas related to osteoarthritis, muscle “knots” or trigger points, and many kinds of cramping/spasms (menstrual, neuropathic, restless leg syndrome, for example, or even just stiffness from postural stress).
• “Hurts all over” pain and sensitivity. There are many kinds, but primarily; fibromyalgia, the rheumatic diseases, drug side effects,6 vitamin D deficiency, and sleep deprivation.

 

What heat is not for

Heat will make some conditions much worse. Never apply heat to an infection or fresh injury! Or any other acute inflammation, like a flare-up of arthritis. That’s what ice is for: soothing inflamed tissue.

And what’s a “fresh” injury? Any time tissue has been physically damaged, it will be inflamed for a few days, give or take. If superficial tissue is sensitive to touch, if the skin is hot and red, if there is swelling, these are all signs that your injury is still fresh, and should not be heated.

If there’s no obvious/severe injury or infection, it’s okay to try a heat treatment. But it can be surprisingly unclear! Always seek medical advice if you are unsure.