One of the most common natural remedies for pain known to man is ice and heat. However, not everyone knows which treatment works well for which type of pain. It is important to know which works for each type of pain, as using the wrong treatment for the wrong injury may result in the conditioning getting worse e.g. using heat on acute injuries can increase inflammation and delay healing. Ice is best for relieving inflammation and numbing pain while heat helps relax tightened muscles and relieve joint aches.
Here are some common types of pain you may face and the best methods to use in treating them.
1. Arthritis
Arthritis is caused by the wearing out of cartilage located in the joints e.g. knees, shoulders, fingers, elbow etc. thus resulting in inflammation due to bones in the affected area rubbing against themselves. The best way to treat this is with heat as moist heat helps ease stiff joints and also relax tightened muscles.
2. Gout Flare-ups
Gout flare ups are commonly experienced by people suffering from this condition that causes chronic, inflammatory arthritis. The gout is caused by too much uric acid being in the body, causing an even more painful form of arthritis. Applying ice to the affected area can be helpful, as ice helps calm flare-ups and numb the pain.
3. Headache
Headaches are caused by pain emanating from nerves, muscles, or blood vessels in the head or from muscles around the neck. They may also be caused by sudden change in chemical activity happening in the brain. A combination of both ice and heat can be helpful as ice helps numb the throbbing head pain while moist heat helps with relaxing the painful neck spasms
4. Sprains
Sprains are caused by stretching or tearing of ligaments located in joints like the knee, foot, shoulder, ankle etc. due to twisting of the affected areas. Use ice to ease the resulting inflammation and numb the pain and then use heat to relieve any stiffness after the inflammation subsides.
5. Strains
Strains occur as a result of pulled muscles or injured tendons located in the thigh, back, neck, or calf etc. Both ice and heat can help here too so you can use ice to first ease inflammation/swelling and also numb pains and then apply heat to ease stiffness afterwards.
6. Tendinitis
Tendinitis occurs as a result of acute irritation following activity in the tendons attached to joints like the shoulders, waist, knee, elbows, ankle etc. As a result of irritation, the affected area which connects the muscles or tendons to bones gets inflamed, resulting in pain. This type of pain can be resolved by using ice to relieve inflammation and also numb the pain.
7. Tendinosis
Tendinosis is caused by chronic irritation and stiffness in tendons which are attached to joints. It is a chronic form of tendinitis and often emanates from the cellular level. The affected area can get inflamed and result in pain. This pain can be addressed by using heat to relieve the stiffness after inflammation in the area has subsided.
