Skip to main content

What should I use, heat or ice?

What do you do if you are in pain ice or heat? This is a question that I get asked frequently. The number one rule is if you've injured something and it hurts, ice it. When you injure yourself blood rushes to the injured spot to promote healing. When you ice you not only numb the area so you don't feel the pain, but also cause the blood that is pooled there to leave. When you take the ice off fresh blood will come back to the area. The rule of thumb when icing is 15 minutes, or less, if the area becomes numb.

If you are stiff and sore and just are not sure if you should ice or heat, alternate heat and ice three times, end in ice. If your muscles are tight heat is best. Remember that moist heat is better as water is a good conduit. Hot showers, sea salt baths ( the sea salt will help bring out toxins from your body), moist heat packs that you can put in the microwave or even a wet wash cloth heated in the microwave.

When you are injured you should also pay attention to what you eat. Sugar, alcohol, red meat and dairy can all cause inflammation. Your body will heal quicker if you eat a healthy diet. Think whole foods, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, not foods that are processed. Your body will not have to work as hard to break these down and can expend more energy into healing your injury.

In Health Cynthia Karvonen LMP

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Straight talk on health care

In 2009 there's been lots of conversation about health care, both at the federal and state levels.1-3 Not all the talk has been friendly. Those favoring broad reforms describe serious problems in the health care "system". Those opposing change have spread rumors about impending "socialized medicine". Whatever the outcome, chiropractic health care continues to address many of the real shortcomings of the current health care situation in the United States. First and foremost, chiropractic care focuses on the patient. So much of health care is focused on the profit-taking bottom line. Necessary services are denied coverage and unnecessary services are prescribed, all to further some faceless organization's return on investment. Chiropractic care has one goal in mind - to help the patient be healthy and get well in the fastest amount of time possible. Other forms of health care talk but chiropractic walks the walk. Chiropractic health care is truly patient-cente...
Post a Comment
Read more

Morning Sweats

In a small study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine's annual meeting in June 2011, 15 adults worked out for 30 minutes on a treadmill at 7 am, 1 pm, or 7 pm, then had their sleep and blood pressure monitored.  The morning sessions correlated with better and longer sleep and lower blood pressure compared with the afternoon and evening workouts.  Conclusion, it is better to exercise in the morning.
Post a Comment
Read more

Pregnancy and Low Back Pain

  Pregnancy is a unique and challenging condition – for both the female who is pregnant and for her chiropractor! The effects of major hormonal shifts, an incredibly rapid weight gain (and then loss), and the stress associated with being a new mother all combine to make pregnancy one of the most common causes of low back pain. The Stats   Low back pain statistics for pregnant females are quite alarming. For the general population, it is estimated that approximately 70-85% of us will experience at least one bout of acute low back pain in our lives. 1   In the pregnant female population, the rate is 50-80% during a 9-month window! And for those women who experienced back pain during pregnancy, over 60% of these women described the pain as at least moderately severe, and close to 10% said the pain was “completely disabling.” 3 The Main Cause of Pain   Since low back pain often occurs in the later stages of pregnancy, experts suggest that the main cause of thi...
Post a Comment
Read more