Ice and Simple Pain Relief - How to use Ice
Jun 24th, 2009 by Kathryn Merrow
Ice or heat for pain relief?
Ice can help you heal and get rid of your pain much more quickly than heat. My friend Bette Dowdell will share her experience with you. Bette’s an endocrine specialist. She LOVES ice!
Here’s what Bette says about ice therapy:
Muscle problems tend to accompany endocrine issues, especially adrenal glands that can’t or won’t keep up.
Our muscles get inflamed and “knotted up,” worse on some days than others.
Accupressure massage helps, but few therapists do it right. Several therapists have had at my back. Some felt like they were tickling me; some bruised my muscles and left me sore for days. Only one, Glenn Kippes, the physical therapist who treated me when I lived in Tucson, made a real difference. He’s a magician, but most aren’t.
Doctors usually advise hot baths–the exact wrong thing to do. Heat just inflames muscles all the more.
I know, I know. Heat feels really good. Problem is, all the while it’s feeling good, it’s making things worse.
Answer me this: A half hour or so after you get out of a hot bath or the Jacuzzi, are your muscles better or worse? And how much progress have you made with your muscle pain since you started treating yourself with heat?
A lot of people, especially men and senior citizens for some reason, won’t even consider giving up hot soaks, fully persuaded that some day they’ll work, and all the pain will disappear. It reminds me of when Continue Reading »