To get fast, safe and effective relief, follow these simple instructions:

Dr. Christian’s Wellness Wisdom

Whether you have a new injury or an old one, here are some really useful tips on helping your recovery. Remember it is always best to seek the advice from a qualified health care professional who specializes in identifying the cause of your pain, rather than treating the pain.

NEW INJURY

1. Get a good quality ice pack.  If you don’t have one, use real ice in a plastic sealable bag.  A proper ice pack is easier, more effective and less messy!  Icepacks available here.

2. Wrap the ice pack in a tea towel or two layers of paper towel to protect bare skin.  (Do NOT apply ice directly to bare skin as it can result in ice burn, which is very painful)

3. Apply the ice pack to the painful or inflamed area for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, remove it and place in the freezer to become frozen again for approximately 30 minutes.  Remove from freezer and apply again to the affected area for a further 15 minutes.

Here’s what you can expect:

When the area is numb it means that you’re controlling the swelling and slowing down the production of pain chemicals, promoting faster healing and fewer adhesions and scar tissue.  Your body will possibly experience the following upon using an ice pack:

 First stage: Cold, lasting about one to two minutes.
 Second stage: Warmer, lasting about five minutes.
 Third stage: Pain, lasting just a few seconds.
 Final stage: Numb, the most important stage.

Keep the ice on for about five minutes after the numb stage is reached - then promptly remove!  This usually happens right around eight to 10 minutes.  The entire icing session should not exceed 15 minutes - EVER!  Otherwise, you can bruise the tissues and it will hurt more the next day.

If the gel ice pack (or frozen peas) is of inferior quality, the tissues will never get to the numb stage and not getting the true benefit of icing.  That is why we recommend the use of a quality ice pack.

After the area goes numb, the ice should only be on for another 5 minutes, then it should be removed and the tissues allowed to rest and come back up to body temperature for at least 30-45 minutes

OLD INJURY

To increase blood circulation and improve flexibility from long-standing problems, use moist heat.  A hot water bottle wrapped with a moistened towel can work nicely.  Wet the towel then wring the water out of it, wrap it around a water bottle and place it on the area of concern.

To ensure that the heat doesn’t aggravate your condition, apply it in increments of 10-20 minutes, followed by equal periods where the heat is removed and monitor the results.  Applying ice afterward for just 5-10 minutes can also be very effective to prevent any reactive inflammation.

Avoid the dry heat of a heating pad or applying any heat directly to the spine.  Increased blood circulation in the vicinity of delicate spinal nerve roots can sometimes worsen inflammation.  We recommend a hot water bottle so in case you fall asleep or lose track of time there is less chance of being accidently burned.

We hope this information has been useful and naturally, these are general suggestions.  To learn more about correcting the cause of your pain and/or problem, read more about Principled Chiropractic.

To learn more about returning to the best of health, losing weight, increasing your fitness levels, achieving deeper sleep, reducing stress and having the quality of life you desire, just reserve a seat at our next MasterClass and we will show you how.