Heat Therapy
What is heat therapy used for?
Heat can reduce muscle spasms, reduce joint stiffness, and make soft tissue more limber. Heat can be used to help loosen tight muscles and joints during a warm-up period before exercise. For example, you may put moist hot packs on tight leg muscles before running, or on your shoulder before throwing, or on tight neck or back muscles.
When should I use heat?
Use heat for stiff muscles and joints when you are trying to make them more limber. Do not use heat in the first few days after an injury or while your injury has any swelling because heat increases blood flow and can worsen swelling.
How should I use heat?
Moist heat therapy is more effective than dry heat because it penetrates more deeply, which increases the effect on muscles, joints, and soft tissue. Use it for 15 to 20 minutes or longer if recommended by your health care provider.
Moist heat from towels soaked in hot water or warmed in a microwave are useful, but the towels usually lose their heat within 5 to 10 minutes. Commercial moist heat packs are more convenient and provide longer therapy. Some commercial heat packs are designed to fit specific parts of your body. Hot tubs or whirlpools are also useful.
Heat creams and ointments are popular but don't provide heat very deeply into muscle tissue. The massaging effect of putting the cream on is helpful. Avoid getting these creams into your eyes or on sensitive skin.
Can there be any harmful effects from heat therapy?
Heat increases the blood flow to an injury and can worsen swelling. Heat packs that are too hot or left in place too long may cause burns.
Benefits of heat therapy
Historically, heat has been a natural remedy used to relieve pain and enhance the recovery process. Heat stimulates your thermoreceptors receptors that respond to heat and cold which, in turn, help block the transmission of pain signals to the brain. Thus, a continuous application of heat can significantly reduce your discomfort.
Heat therapy also increases blood flow, which helps to decrease stiffness, relax sore muscles and provide soothing comfort.
Note: Heat should not be used on areas of swelling and bruising. (If swelling occurs, use ice, then apply heat after the swelling goes away.)
Heat wraps provide all the benefits of heat therapy with none of the inconvenience with no plugs from electric heating pads and no odors from ointments. Thermacare provides at least 8 hours of consistent, low-level therapeutic heat that relaxes tight muscles or relieves menstrual cramping.
How heat therapy works
Many episodes of lower back pain result from strains and over-exertions, creating tension in the muscles and soft tissues around the lower spine. As a result, this restricts proper circulation and sends pain signals to the brain.
Muscle spasm in the lower back can create sensations that may range from mild discomfort to excruciating lower back pain. Heat therapy can help relieve pain from the muscle spasm and related tightness in the lower back.
Heat therapy application can help provide lower back pain relief through several mechanisms:
- Heat therapy dilates the blood vessels of the muscles surrounding the lumbar spine. This process increases the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, helping to heal the damaged tissue.
- Heat stimulates the sensory receptors in the skin, which means that applying heat to the lower back will decrease transmissions of pain signals to the brain and partially relieve the discomfort.
- Heat application facilitates stretching the soft tissues around the spine, including muscles, connective tissue, and adhesions. Consequently, with heat therapy, there will be a decrease in stiffness as well as injury, with an increase in flexibility and overall feeling of comfort. Flexibility is very important for a healthy back.
For many people, heat therapy works best when combined with other treatment modalities, such as physical therapy and exercise. Relative to most medical treatments available, heat therapy is appealing to many people because it is a non-invasive and non-pharmaceutical form of low back pain relief.