Cold Therapy Can Help With Pain
Cold therapy is one of the most common types of therapy immediately following an injury that has left you with swelling and residual pain. It can come in many forms, from using ice packs to help keep inflammation down, to using lasers to reduce pain. Getting cold therapy from your chiropractor can be a great way to eliminate some, if not all your pain. You may want to give A Family Chiropractic Clinic a call today, if you think you could benefit from cold therapy. They can evaluate what you are currently going through, and let you know what they believe cold therapy could provide you in terms of relief.
What Exactly Is Cold Therapy?
Cold therapy is a way to bring about pain relief without a need for medication. It often involves using ice either in a pack or as part of a massage. This helps to restrict the blood flow to the sore area, which can provide a bit of numbing for you and decrease your pain. On top of restricting the blood flow, it also helps to keep swelling to a minimum. Once the ice comes off of the area, that spot floods with extra blood. This helps to warm the area back up, plus brings in extra blood cells to help begin the healing process more quickly. What this can do is offer you much-needed pain relief right after the injury. This also kick-starts the healing process at a much faster pace.
How to Apply Cold Therapy at Home
When you go in and get professional cold therapy from your chiropractor, you should get full instructions on how to continue the therapy at home. Make sure the ice packs you use never directly touch your skin. Wrap them up in some type of a towel or other piece of material first. Then, place the cold pack on the sore area of your body. Make sure to follow the instructions on how long to let it sit, but never go beyond the 15-minute mark. If you leave the ice on for too long, it can cause damage to the nerves in the area you apply the ice to. After waiting for however long you were instructed, you can get the ice out from the freezer once more, and reapply it as often as instructed.
When Is Cold Therapy Useful?
Chiropractors often use cold therapy as part of a larger treatment plan. For example, if you are struggling with chronic pain, you may use cold therapy as part of a pattern. This may be using heat for ten minutes, then cold for ten minutes, followed again by heat for ten minutes. The goal of this pattern is to relax the sore area, then drive away any inflammation, and then allow the area to relax and get the necessary blood flow to heal more quickly.
They may also use cold therapy alongside ultrasound therapy. Using cold packs first allows the area to not be swollen when it is time for the ultrasound tool to be used. This lets the effects of the ultrasound get deeper than it would if the area were swollen. Since ultrasound therapy effectively heats the area, it helps to also stimulate much more rapid healing, too.
Typically, cold therapy is only recommended by doctors during the first 72 hours following any type of injury. However, that is not the point when used by chiropractors. They are using it to help give you relief from your pain, and to take away any inflammation. Once the inflammation has gone down, their other treatments are able to help you on a deeper level. This gives you better results, and allows your pain relief to be longer lasting.
Cold Therapy is Only Truly Effective in the Hands of Experienced Professionals
By trying to do cold therapy solely on your own, you are putting your body at risk. While setting an ice pack on a sore spot can help, it is not the same as what you would get at A Family Chiropractic Clinic. They can help you begin your cold therapy in the office. Plus, teach you how to continue the therapy once you go home. Guessing on how long is going to work for you could be risky, and simply isn’t worth that. Seek out professional help so you can fully experience the benefits that come with this type of therapy. Stop living a life where your pain dictates what you get to do each day. Let the experience and training a professional can provide, give you your life back.
