Should I apply ice or heat for injuries? How about both?

Nov 29

In most cases, if you’ve got a sore spot, applying ice to the injury is usually your best bet.  But, whether it’s winter or summer, ice isn’t always welcome.  Using heat and ice at the same time can create a very comfortable compromise!

Try this: apply ice to the injured area and a moist heating pad to the opposite side. If your neck hurts, ice the back of your neck and apply heat to your forehead, jaw or chest. If your low back hurts, apply ice to your back and moist heat to your belly.

Applying a heating pad to the opposite side will usually make the ice feel strangely warm and comfortable.

You can easily make an effective moist heating pad by following these steps:

You’ll need (1) a microwave; (2) two kitchen towels; and, (3) a bath towel

1. Put a kitchen towel in a bowl of water in your microwave for up to 3 minutes
2. Remove the Very Hot (be very careful not to burn yourself!), soaking wet kitchen towel from the microwave
3. Cautiously drop the wet kitchen towel onto a larger bath towel
4. Roll up the bath towel around the hot, wet kitchen towel to create a moist heating pad that will last you about 30 to 40 minutes (Be careful: when you first apply the heating pad, it may soak through Extremely Hot in a minute or two; be ready with a thin, dry kitchen towel to put another layer between you and the heating pad to avoid burning yourself

If you are in doubt, always ask your doctor whether heat or ice should be applied to an injury!

Questions? Contact Dr Bill Gagliardi, Chiropractic Physician, by text or phone (801) 430-9244 or by email ([email protected]).

Shower or Ice Pack?

Sep 30

The secret to successful healing is consistency and quick, easy therapies. If your goal is to reduce pain and soreness, you'll want to perform your therapies routinely — and they can't take much thought or effort or you probably won’t do them.

One of the easiest therapies to perform, because it’s already part of your daily routine, is a Contrast Shower. All you have to do is tweak your current shower protocol a bit.

Here's how it works:

Take your usual hot shower when you wake up or before bed. Because the hot water will run off your body, I'm not worried about the heat making your injury worse, so feel free to enjoy a guilt-free hot shower. But, at the end of your shower, turn the water to Cool or Cold (a contrast) for 5 to 15 seconds. Then go back to Hot for up to 30 seconds. Then back to Cool or Cold for 5 to 15 seconds again. Repeat this procedure 6 to 10 times. That's it.

Most patients report feeling a bit like a "wet noodle" when they're done, either ready to face the day or to crawl into bed. Either way, you’ve done your therapy effectively and with almost no extra effort.

Questions? Contact Dr Bill Gagliardi, Chiropractic Physician, by text or phone (801) 430-9244 or by email ([email protected]).

Refreshing Beverage or Quick Therapy?

Sep 6

Icing requires consistency and sometimes the creative use of a cold, refreshing drink.

Ice massage is my therapy of choice for reducing swelling and pain and, done with consistency, speeds the healing process dramatically.

Follow these simple Ice Massage rules:

(1) Ice massage vigorously twice a day for about 8 minutes.

(2) Ice massage for a minute or two every hour or two through the day.

For the Vigorous Icing (2x per day), ask a friend to help. You’ll need:

• a kitchen chair,
• a bowl of ice cubes,
• a couple of kitchen towels,
• 8 minutes.

(1) You: sit backwards in a kitchen chair; tuck a kitchen towel into your shirt collar

(2) Your friend: mentally divides your injured area in half (e.g., your neck) then picks up an ice cube or two in another kitchen towel (the towel keeps fingers from freezing and catches water from the melting cubes) and gently melt the cubes into the muscles of the first injured side for one minute.

(3) Cover the first side with a towel then ice the 2nd side for one minute.

(4) Go back and forth 4 times. Repeat the process again if you have time.

The “once-an-hour” icing is even easier. You only need one or two ice cubes. (Use your freezer or an icy beverage as a trigger to remind you to ice massage for 1 to 2 minutes every time you see them.)

I’ve been known to take a few cubes from a soda or glass of ice water during lunch, put them in a napkin, and gently massage the cubes into my neck for a minute or two, all done quickly and fairly inconspicuously (covered by my hand) in public, turning a refreshing beverage into a quick, effective therapy.

Done frequently, Ice Massage effectively keeps swelling and pain down with minimal effort and dramatically improves your response to your in-office treatments.

Questions? Contact Dr Bill Gagliardi, Chiropractic Physician, by text or phone (801) 430-9244 or by email ([email protected]).