Ice/Heat Therapy

Heat or cold therapy can provide a surprising amount of pain relief for most types of back and neck pain. Muscle strains and pulls are some of the most common causes of back pain, and can be soothed with heat and cold therapy.

Cold packs help reduce inflammation and numb a painful area while heat packs help increase circulation to a specific area of the body and can promote healing.

It’s easy to make a hot or cold pack with materials you already have at home.  Making hot or cold packs yourself is convenient, because one will be ready whenever you need it, and it could save you some money.

Homemade Gel Ice Packs

These homemade gel ice packs are more comfortable than a bag of frozen peas, because they mold better to your body without the lumps and bumps.

They can be made for under $3.

What you need:

1 quart or 1 gallon plastic freezer bags (depending on how large you want the cold pack)

2 cups water

1 cup rubbing alcohol

Instructions:

Fill the plastic freezer bag with 1 cup of rubbing alcohol and 2 cups of water.

Try to get as much air out of the freezer bag before sealing it shut.

Place the bag and its contents inside a second freezer bag to contain any leakage.

Leave the bag in the freezer for at least an hour.

When it's ready, place a towel between the gel pack and bare skin to avoid burning the skin.

Home-Made Pain Relief

Sometimes the simplest solutions are best.  Here we show you how to make your own gel ice pack or moist heat pack, and a simple low back massager to help ease your discomfort until you can get in to see your chiropractor.

February 2015

Homemade Moist Heat Packs

Heat therapy increases circulation to aching muscles, and provides pain relief. There are two types of heat therapy, dry and moist.

Electric heating pads bring a dry heat, which some people find to be less comforting than moist heat. Moist heat packs are less dehydrating to the skin, and they allow heat to absorb better into the skin and relieve pain faster.

What you need:

Cloth container (sock, fabric)

4-6 cups filling (e.g. uncooked rice, flax seed, buckwheat, oatmeal)

Needle and thread (optional, but recommended)

Flair (ribbon, fragrant oils; optional)

Instructions:

Fill your container with the filling.

Tie or sew the container shut.

Add soothing aromatherapy before you microwave, if you want.

Microwave container for 1-3 minutes.

Whether you are using cold or heat therapy, do not apply them for more than 15 minutes at a time. The best way to apply either heat or cold is to alternate 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off for an hour or two.

Do-It-Yourself Massage

What you need:

6 tennis balls

A roll of duct tape

A floor

10-15 minutes daily

Instructions:

Align the tennis balls in a figure eight, and then use as much duct tape as needed to secure the balls in this shape. When completed, the compact tennis balls/duct tape contraption will look like a peanut.

Place the tennis balls on the ground and then lie on them face up, keeping the knees bent. The tennis balls should be parallel to your waist and centered just above the lumbar spine (lower back).

Attain balance and comfort, and then raise both arms with your fingers pointed towards the ceiling. Keep your arms as straight as possible.

Beginning with either your right or left arm, slowly lower your arm backwards toward your head (visualize a reverse tomahawk chop without the speed). Once again, keep your arms as straight as possible and feel free to bend your neck backwards when moving your arms.

Bring the arm backwards to the ground, hold this position for a couple of seconds, and then slowly bring it back to its original starting position.

Now repeat the same action with the other arm.

Alternate and complete for each arm four more times. Through-out this process, the tennis balls simulate the knuckles of a massage therapist.

Contact me if you have questions.

Please Call

Dr. Dave Thomson

801-547-6688

Thomson Chiropractic and Acupuncture

Ref Spine Health

Pain-Free Travel Tips

For many people with back pain or neck pain, the prospect of a long trip can be daunting.  The seat in cars, airplanes, buses, and trains aren’t always the most comfortable and sitting still for an extended time can in and of itself aggravate painful areas in the back and neck.  The following tips are offered to help reduce or avoid overall back pain and discomfort while traveling.

Lift Luggage in Stages

Back strain often occurs near the end of one’s range of motion when lifting a heavy item.  For this reason, experts recommend moving slowly when lifting a heavy piece of luggage and breaking the action into smaller parts whenever possible.  For example, when lifting a bag into an overhead bin, it can first be lifted to the top of the seat, then into the bin in a separate motion.  Similarly, loading a suitcase in the trunk of a car can be broken into steps, such as lifting it first to a chair or stepstool, then lifting it into the trunk.  Other important lifting tips include:

Bend at the knees and use leg muscles rather than back muscles to lift

Avoid twisting the low back while lifting; instead, pivot with the feet;

Carry heavy items as close to the body as possible;

Distribute weigh evenly on each side of the body;

If carrying one shoulder bag, switch sides often to avoid stressing one side of the back.

Bring Your Own Back Support

Seats in cars, trains, planes etc. often don’t provide the right type of support for the lower back and/or neck. A lumbar support pillow can be used to make your seat more comfortable and support your lower back.  If you don’t have one or forget to bring it, a jacket, sweater or blanket rolled up can also provide support for the inward curve of the low back.  This is often particularly important if traveling coach class on a long flight, as many airplane eats lack low back support.  In this case, an airplane pillow or blanket placed between the seat and low back can work well.  An inflatable travel pillow that fits around the neck can help avoid neck strain by providing head support while resting or sleeping in a sitting position during travel.

Support Your Feet

Proper support for the low back also requires bottom-up leverage from your feet.  If your feet are not placed on a firm surface while sitting, additional stress is transferred to your low back.  Therefore, if your seat is too high, try to rest your feet on a footrest (or something that can act as a footrest) to keep your knees at a right angle and avoid stressing the low back.  While driving, resting both feet on the floor provides more support for your lower back than if one foots is on the gas, so you may consider using cruise control for longer drives.

Move as Much as Possible

The spine is designed to move. Sitting in one position for extended periods of time stiffens the back muscles, which can put stress on the spine.  Get up and stretch and move around frequently – every 20 to 30 minutes if possible – to move your core body muscles.  Importantly, movement stimulates blood flow and blood brings important nutrients and oxygen to th4e structures of the back which helps prevent soft tissues in the low back from stiffening and aching after sitting for a long time.  Even 10 seconds of movement and stretching is better than sitting still.  Movement also helps prevent blood clots from forming in the leg (called deep vein thrombosis), which is one of the most dangerous risks of sitting sill for long periods.

Quick and Easy Pain Relief

If back pain does flare up while you’re traveling, one of the fastest ways to get relief is applying a cold pack or alternating ice and heat.  When traveling, materials such as ice and hot packs are usually easily accessible and affordable.  For example, you can fill any type of plastic bag with ice and apply to the painful area such as placing a small bag of ice between your low back and he seatback while you’re driving or sitting in a plane or train.  There are also disposable, portable hot packs that heat up after you open them, so you can bring them on your travels and open and apply them as needed.  Commercial heat wraps are available that wrap around the middle of the body and incorporate heating units in the low back area of the band.  Such types of heat wraps last for several hours, making them ideal to provide back comfort during lengthy travel.  However, too much heat can cause swelling and therefore, alternating ice and heat for 10-15 minutes each, and avoiding prolonged heat is best.

full article see - http://www.spine-health.com/wellness/ergonomics/pain-free-travel-tips