Tag Archive for chiropractic

Heat vs Ice For pain reduction—which one to use and when?

One of the most common questions I get asked by patients in clinic is regarding the use of ice or heat in response to pain. Generally, the questions are regarding which one is better. The answer here is that they are both good, but for different types of pain or injury.

In my personal experience (and what is generally accepted in traditional medicine), ice is best used for new – or acute injuries (good for about 48 hours after the injury has occurred) and heat is better used for old – or chronic injuries. However use ice if you acutely aggravate an old injury site!

With fresh injuries such as spraining an ankle, swelling is a problem. One of your first concerns is to reduce heat and swelling around the area of injury to   reduce the pain as much as possible. By placing ice on the affected area, this can reduce swelling which in turn will minimise the pain. By placing the source of ice on the injury for 10 minutes  on, 10 minutes off, for a  3-4 rounds, you should start to feel the pain reduce.

Heat is best used with long term pain, such as chronic muscle tightness. Heat is a very good way to relax and loosen tissues in the body, which in turn will decrease pain caused from muscle tightness. Always make sure when using heat treatments that it is not too hot and never use it while sleeping. Leaving the heat source on the area of pain for about 15 minutes should be enough to see results.

So, next time you are thinking of a way to reduce pain, always think about heat or ice. They are easy to obtain, easy to use and very effective. Just remember, ice is good for fresh (acute) injuries in the first 48 hours and heat is good for older (chronic) injuries after the first 48 hours.

What happens if you haven’t had an adjustment for a while?

From time to time clients who previously have  had  good results from Chiropractic care get out of the habit of having their regular spinal check-ups. People often tell me:

  • “ I’ve been feeling really good”
  • “ I haven’t had any niggles”
  • “ I have been too busy”
  • “ I haven’t had time to  look after  myself because there are other people I have to look after”

While all of the above may be quite true (and may even relate to you), let me share some information with you:

Misalignment’s of the spine (subluxations) are often silent.
This is because when the joint isn’t moving at its best, you may not feel pain, you may not even notice the subtle loss of mobility that accompanies the subluxation. Also the nerve pressure that results from a vertebral subluxation may not be  irritating the pain nerves (which are only 2-3 % of all the nerve fibers). It may instead be affecting nerves to your   muscles and you may experience increased muscle tension.  It can affect nerve communication to your organs, blood vessels and glands, which can make you feel lack luster, fatigued and low on stamina.

If the above description relates to you , we invite you back to our clinics to help you get ’back on  track’!

“What exercise is best for my spine?”

Patients often put this question to me because they usually want to do something to help them without aggravating the spinal problems they have.  Firstly, it depends on what you want to achieve; i.e.

  • General conditioning or
  • Specific strengthening

Secondly, it depends on what activities you like or are prepared to do.

Walking is a fabulous all-rounder and has a huge number of plusses.

  • Weight-bearing exercises
  • Help stimulate bone density
  • Doesn’t ‘jar’ your joints like jogging can
  • Almost  all ages can participate
  • Costs you only a decent pair of shoes and your time
  • Keeps your dog happy!

Swimming is well known to be ‘good’ for your back. This is because there is little you could do while swimming to hurt yourself (aside from drowning of course!) But swimming is unique because the water supports you and you can exercise muscles in a horizontal position that are different to how muscles are used in the vertical position i.e.

The long strap muscles either side of your spine (Erector Spinae) and the extensor muscles of the lower back and hips (Quadratus lumborum and gluteals)

Muscles that pull your shoulders back to help you stand tall ( Latisimus Dorsi and Rhomboids)

Your core stability often improves too. (An easy way of helping your tummy muscles without realizing it!)

  • Aqua-aerobics is an alternative.

Can you fix me? How long will it take?

In my nearly 15 years of practice “Can you fix me?” certainly is the most common  question…. followed by: “How long will it take?”

Honestly, I don’t like to use the word ‘fix’  as I think it gives people unrealistic expectations. Instead I will tell a person if I believe chiropractic can help them after I have assessed their situation.

Fortunately the majority of the time the answer is “Yes, I can help you”.  However,  how much I can help and how long it takes depends on a number of factors:

  • The length of time the problem has been apparent
  • The age of the person and whether there is any spinal deterioration or scar tissue
  • The person’s occupation or daily duties
  • The relative well-being and lifestyle choices of the person
  • The attitude, optimism and willingness of the person to help themselves to get well.

The most successful clients are those who not only follow our recommendations but participate in their own care and  doing what they can themselves to assist their own healing! The journey to well-being is a partnership between the practitioner and the client.

We need to understand how our body functions and what we need to do to maintain optimal health.  There is a difference between fixing our car and maintaining it or fixing our teeth and maintaining them.  This idea has not been translated well enough to our nervous system and our overall health.

Most people who seek chiropractic care are people who present with symptoms such as neck pain, headache or back pain that need some sort of help. Attempted to have their problem fixed definitely make great sense but if the person is not educated on the concept of maintaining the structure of the spine, most of the time the problems will return.

This would not be different than taking painkiller every day for headaches or back pain, muscle relaxant every day for muscle spasm or go to the dentist to get all the cavities filled instead of brushing teeth. These are not proper long term solutions to maintain the integrity of the body.

True health comes from within and needs to be maintained to function optimally. There is no doubt that there may always be a chance that something needs to be fixed but regular maintenance of healthy spine must not be ignored and essential  to avoid serious problems that might have a great cost.

See your chiropractor and get your spine check regularly!

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