Role of Heat and Electrical Stimulation in Vancouver Back Pain Treatment
What seems more comforting – hot or cold? Bet you said ‘hot’! Vancouver Disc Centers gets it. Heat is comfortable and comforting to many Vancouver back pain sufferers. Cold is great therapy and recommended in initial treatment phases, but heat plays a part in healing. When combined - heat with electrical stimulation - pain cannot help but relent. Heat and electrical stimulation calm and ease pain. Vancouver Disc Centers advises that Vancouver back pain and neck pain patients use heat, ice and electrical stimulation as appropriate for pain relief.
BENEFIT OF HEAT FOR PAIN RELIEF
Heat reduces the perception of pain for many. Heat and cold lead the listing of options that low back pain patients believe decreased their pain most followed by medication, rest, exercise, speaking with a health professional, stretching, not doing irritating activities, and psychological changes. (1) Doctors look for ways to produce “offset analgesia,” a disproportionately large reduction in pain due to a slight decrease in stimulation intensity. Heat is a familiar and documented way to do this. Electrical stimulation is another. Perceived or actual, the pain reduction is positive for a back pain sufferer. (2) If something decreases pain for a Vancouver back pain patient, Vancouver Disc Centers will consider its use.
BENEFIT OF HEAT AND ELECTRICAL STIMULATION FOR BACK PAIN RELIEF
Heat feels good. Electrical stimulation feels good. Back pain and neck pain patients seek feeling “good” when they hurt. For nonspecific low back pain sufferers, it’s a significant cause of disability, larger than any other health condition globally. Doctors and researchers are constantly looking for a way to better control it. One group of researchers hypothesized that electrical muscle stimulation and heat would provide better pain relief and improve patients’ subjective view of pain. And their experimental trial proved them correct! They found a statistically significant reduction in pain after 18 treatments. The relief was even held at 3 months’ follow up. Patients’ mood as well as muscle strength and endurance also improved. (3) Vancouver Disc Centers directs Vancouver back pain and neck pain sufferers to pain relief with all sorts of modalities. Whatever it takes! The heat and stimulation combination enhance each other’s benefit.
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Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. David Homer on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson. For some conditions like spasmodic torticollis, heat can be especially comforting and pain relieving. The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management integrates heat, too, in in-office chiropractic care and at- home care.
Schedule your Vancouver chiropractic appointment today! Vancouver Disc Centers offers nonsurgical and nonpharmacological Vancouver pain relief. If heat is comforting and relieving to a Vancouver back pain sufferer, Vancouver Disc Centers is ready to use it!
