Is Heating Pad Good For Knee Pain

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Should You Use Heat Or Ice For Knee Pain

Should You Use Heat Or Ice For Knee Pain?

According to CDC.gov, Knee pain is prevalent in 18% of the US population. The incidence of knee pain is slightly higher in women than in men. Studies indicate that the pain gets worse with age and that obese and overweight individuals are highly susceptible to it. Other risk factors include osteoarthritis, fractures, overuse, gout and so on. If you dont tackle knee pain early, the joint may degenerate to a level where surgery is the only option for treatment. As you know, knee replacement surgery is ridiculously expensive and complex. You definitely dont want to walk down that path.

Knee pain can cause extreme discomfort and prevent mobility. This has a negative impact on a persons social life and emotional well being. In many cases, it can even prevent the individual from working in certain environments and lead to heavy financial losses. Knee pain is one problem that you must nip in the bud or else it can destroy your life, really! If you think that is an overstatement, ask a person who suffers from chronic pain.

Physiotherapy, compression knee pain wraps, light massage, icing , heating and acupressure are all effective against knee pain IF you do them right. All of these approaches are hassle free and inexpensive. But should you use heat or ice for knee pain? Let us take a closer look at what the science says.

The Benefits of Ice for Knee Pain

The Benefits of Heat for Knee Pain

Best Cream For Knee Pain: Anti Inflammatory Cream

The largest joint in a mans body is the knee. It is at this point that we bend our legs and we also straighten them. This means that the knee has got a lot of functions. Therefore, it is very important. It is therefore easy to see why there are some joint problems that can be experienced in this area.

Knee pain is quite common and we all look for the best way to get rid of it as much as we can. The best cream for knee pain can give you the kind of comfort that you may greatly desire. Best pain relief cream for joint pain is, therefore, a must-have.

When compared to hips, the knee is one of the most replaced joints in the body. Very many people over the age of fifty years have issues with this kind of pain and most of them have actually gone through surgery.

The fact that the knee has a complicated structure and it also has a cartilage makes it one of the most vulnerable points of the body. Knees arent highly protected either, which leads to more injuries.

Such arthritis can lead to different issues including osteoarthritis which is a kind of arthritis that affects the joints. The best arthritis cream can help in such a case.

The effects of arthritis or knee damage cannot be reversed, but you can definitely slow them down a little. When you have the right information, you can deal with this kind of pain without necessarily having to go for surgery. Its never easy to deal with chronic knee pain.

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Using Your Heating Pad

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The Competition: Common Pain Meds

Over-the-counter pain medications19 are probably the only self-prescribed treatment for pain and fresh injury more common than ice/heat, but their risks and benefits could not be more different. They are quite safe in moderation, but there are serious concerns most people are unaware of,20 and the best argument in favour of ice may be the relatively unknown problems with these drugs.

All types of these medications are roughly equally effective for acute injury pain,21 but their benefits may vary for other problems .

Dont take any pain killer chronically risks go up with exposure. acetaminophen is good for fever and pain, and is one of the safest of all drugs at recommended dosages, but its surprisingly easy to take too much, which can badly hurt livers22 and it doesnt work well for musculoskeletal pain. The NSAIDs might be a better bet: they reduce inflammation as well as pain and fever, but at any dose they can cause heart attacks and strokes and they are gut burners . Aspirin is usually best for joint and muscle pain, but its the most gut-burning of them all. Voltaren Gel: Does It Work? is an ointment NSAID, much safer for treating superficial pain.

What Is Bursitis Of The Knee

Bursitis occurs when one or more of the bursae become irritated and inflamed.

There are more than 150 bursae found throughout the body, and you can experience bursitis in any of your joints. The knee joint is one of the most commonly affected because it regularly undergoes a lot of stress.

Common symptoms of bursitis of the knee include pain, stiffness, redness, swelling, and difficulty moving the joint through a full range of motion.

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No 6 Walking Poles Or A Cane

Whether youre a young guy/gal or a senior like me, the early days after surgery will take a toll on you. Your balance will be slightly off as you manage the pain from TKR. The pain will gradually subside and your body should quickly adjust to its new knee.; Even months after recovery youll want some support and thats why walking poles are a must-have item after knee replacement.

Even patients in top shape shouldnt be ashamed of using a little help. A cane in the weeks following surgery will help take some pressure off the knee although it will put more pressure on your arm.

Walking sticks can also be used while around the house or exercising outside. Unlike canes, walking poles come in a pair. Feel free to only use 1 or both depending on the situation.

>>read my review on the best walking poles

While walking/hiking they can help with shock absorption. Just as important, the might help you avoid a fall and further injury to your knee or hip.

Ive used walking poles for a number of years. They are lightweight so my arms dont fatigue when using them and I notice my knee is less sore the following day after Ive used them.

When Not To Use A Heat Pad For Knee Pain

Some knee conditions or injuries can cause the knee to become inflamed, warm, and tender. If you have these symptoms, you should not use heat treatment on your knee. Heat therapy is designed to increase blood flow to an affected area however, if that area is already swollen, you should aim to reduce blood flow to it by using an ice pack or cold compress. Once the swelling has disappeared you can resume your heat treatment with a heat pad to increase your range of motion and relieve any lasting pain.

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When To Ice Or Heat An Injury

Our physical therapists and athletic trainers see injuries of all types at Rebound, whether theyre brought on by sports or everyday activities. This certified group has extensive experience helping patients overcome injuries, reclaim their mobility and live pain-free.

In honor of National Physical Therapy Month, one of our physical therapists has some expert advice on a popular topic: icing an injury versus heating an injury. When is the right time? What is the difference between the two?

Physical therapist Michael Baer;fills us in on when to ice or heat an injury;and some general rules of thumb below.

The best way to understand what type of injuries should be iced is to understand how your body reacts to injuries, says Baer. Knowing the difference between an acute injury and a chronic condition helps determine when its time for ice or heat.

What Types of Injuries Should You Apply Ice To?

Best practice is to apply ice to an acute injury or new injury. An acute injury, such as a sprain, involves tissue damage and inflammation around the injury site. Acute injuries are short-term injuries. Some common acute injuries:

• Ankle sprain
• Red, hot or swollen body part
• Acute pain after intense exercise

Tips for Icing an Injury

Be sure to limit icing sessions to 20 minutes, because excessive icing can irritate the skin or cause tissue damage. Continue to ice the injury for the next 24-48 hours.

What Types of Injuries Should You Apply Heat To?

Tips for Heating an Injury

How To Apply Heat:

There are many different ways heat can be applied including hot water bottles, heating pads, heated gel packs, heat wraps, wheat bags, heat creams and rubs, a warm shower, sauna or a long soothing hot bath. Even a hot, wet towel can bring relief. The heat should be warm, not excessive. Dont apply heat for longer than 20 minutes and protect your skin from burns or scalds by wrapping a thin towel around any heat source. Also never use a heating cream along with a heating pad or wrap.

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Warming With Infrared Radiation: Infrared Saunas Especially Far Infrared Saunas

Red & infrared radiation on a hand in an infrared scanner. Photo by Yu Chieh;Ho.

Infrared radiation is almost light so close that it is often called infrared light, even though it is actually beyond the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that we can normally see. It has a longer wavelength than any visible light. And infrared is radiation is warming it jostles our molecules which is why it is also often called heat radiation.

Infrared saunas sound fancy, like they are emitting some kind of special radiation, not just heating rays but healing rays. In fact, an infrared heater is just a heater. All heaters are infrared heaters, because all radiative heating is infrared. Calling it an infrared radiation heater is kind of like calling a lamp a visible radiation lamp. If you were to put a space heater in a small cedar panelled room, you would have yourself an infrared sauna.

If any infrared radiation is a healing ray, its far infrared radiation . More expensive saunas use far infrared, and it is a bit different. The main advantage of using far infrared is entirely practical: they require minimal shielding, because the heating elements themselves stay almost magically cool while still heating up whatever they paint with their radiation . So they can be built into the walls of the sauna without scorching them . And thats quite useful.

You want microwaves with that?

Healing rays: is far infrared radiation special?

How Can I Take Care Of My Knee Bursitis At Home

• R.I.C.E.: This is a four-step treatment plan that you can follow. R est, I ce, C ompress and E levate your knee to decrease swelling and help your knee heal.
• Rest: The most important part of treating bursitis is resting your knee while it heals. Resting your knee may decrease swelling and keep the bursitis from getting worse. When the pain decreases, begin normal, slow movements.
• Ice: Use ice for two to three days. Ice causes blood vessels to constrict which helps decrease inflammation. Put crushed ice in a plastic bag or use a bag of frozen corn or peas. Cover it with a towel. Put this on your knee for 15 to 20 minutes, three to four times each day. Do not sleep on the ice pack because you can get frostbite. Your caregiver may also tell you to use an ice cube to massage your knee. To do this, rub the ice cube in gentle circles over the inflamed area.
• Compress: You may wrap your knee with tape or an elastic bandage to keep your knee from swelling. Loosen the elastic bandage if your toes begin to tingle or turn blue.
• Elevate: Lie down and elevate your knee by propping it on pillows. Raising it to a level above your heart may help decrease the swelling.

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Even More Localized Heating + The Relevance Of Climate And Context

A reader question:

Is there a product that heats a very small area, like the size of a trigger point ? I could imagine something, kind of ball shaped at the end … Would heating just that small an area be of some value? I ask because roughly one third of the year , I dont want to heat a big part of my body, except in the shower. Its too hot! But Id heat a very small area.

A home remedy version of this could be heating up a stone, which is easy enough.;

Other than hot stone therapy , there is no such product that I am aware of.

If your environment is too hot for heat to be comforting and reassuring, then its unlikely to be helpful, and could even backfire to the extent that its actually perceived as a significant threat . But its a highly idiosyncratic thing. There are people who love to bake themselves in direct sunshine, which I find intolerable. My wife will put a heating pad on under the blankets even in summer, which I cannot imagine tolerating, and her craving for heat surges even higher for treating aches and pains. But I too have suddenly found myself craving the heating pad in warm weather when trying to ease an unusually savage aching.

The threshold between pleasing and annoying definitely moves around!

I am confident that a tiny heater wouldnt be very comforting or reassuring, though I find myself hard-pressed to say exactly why. Its just not big enough to have much of a sensory impact, I suspect.

Apply Heat To Your Rear Pelvis

As a general rule, it is best to apply heat therapy to your rear pelvisthe area where your sciatic nerve roots originate. You feel sciatic nerve pain, numbness, and/or weakness when one or more of these nerve roots become inflamed, irritated, or compressed. The symptoms then travel down your leg along the path of the long sciatic nerve.2

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When Not To Use Cold Or Heat Packs:

• If you have areas of skin with open wounds or rashes.
• If you have areas of skin with poor sensation to heat or cold.
• If you have areas of the body with known poor circulation.
• If you have diabetes.
• If you have an infection under your skin.

If the treatment hasnt helped much with regular use, or makes your pain worse, see your doctor to discuss other treatment options.;Its also important to call your doctor if you develop any bruising or skin changes while using cold or heat therapy.

When To Use Cold Therapy:

• If you have had a recent injury where swelling is a problem.
• Apply an ice pack, frozen gel pack or even a bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel to the affected area. You should never apply a frozen item directly to the skin, as it can cause damage to the skin and tissues.
• Apply cold treatment as soon as possible after an injury.
• Use cold therapy for short periods of time, several times a day. Ten to 15 minutes is fine, and no more than 20 minutes of cold therapy should be used at a time to prevent nerve, tissue, and skin damage.
• Elevate the affected area for best results.

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