Natural pain relief: cold therapies
On top of chiropractic techniques, heat and cold therapies can be an effective and natural way to deal with pain and inflammation. Let’s start by looking at how cold therapy can help.
Whether it’s a muscle or ligament strain, we’ve all experienced acute pain and swelling before. During the acute phase, you may have heard of the RICE method of treatment. The acronym stands for Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate. In this case, Ice represents most cold therapies.
So why is RICE so important?
During an acute injury, our body often reacts by causing inflammation to an area. Our body does this in an attempt to heal quickly – the inflammation leads to increased blood flow, and can lead to symptoms such as warmth and swelling. While this is our body’s natural reaction, it can at times be overcompensating or overreacting, and cause more harm than good.
Cold temperatures can counteract this reaction by causing blood vessels to shrink and thus reduce blood flow. This then leads to reducing inflammation and swelling. What’s even more impressive is that cold can affect how much pain we feel. If it’s cold enough, our nerve endings can be affected and we may feel numbing – thus reducing pain.
Examples of cold therapies include cryotherapy, ice baths, and the simple but effective ice packs. Depending on your symptoms, cold therapies can potentially go hand in hand with chiropractic adjustments to help you recover even faster.
How long you should apply cold therapies for will depend on the individual. As with any therapy, too much cold can be harmful as it can make our joints very stiff. Please consult a professional before starting any new treatments at home.