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Effective Hot/Cold Therapies
Warm Buddy heat/cold wraps can be warmed in the microwave
or cooled in the freezer.
- Products such as the Ultra Sports Therapy
Wrap, Body Wrap, Warming Blanket and Ultra Spa Wrap release a long
lasting, penetrating moist heat that will last for up to 45 minutes. However, when we use the Ultra Sports Therapy Wrap at home, we found that the Wrap stayed heated for well over an hour. That is fantastic!
- When placed in the freezer Warm Buddy packs retain a comfortable level
of coolness that can be used to relieve muscle strain and swelling. My Chiropractor recommends using an cold pack to help alleviate pain due to muscle strain. I have found the Ultra Spa Wrap to be highly effective for this.The
following medical information demonstrates the effectiveness of heat
and cold treatments.
Heat Treatment
The
application of superficial heat to your body can improve the
flexibility of your tendons and ligaments, reduce muscle spasms,
alleviate pain, elevate blood flow, and boost metabolism. The mechanism
by which heat relieves pain is not exactly known, although researchers
believe that heat inactivates nerve fibers which can force muscles into
irritating spasms, and that heat may induce the release of endorphins,
powerful opiate-like chemicals which block pain transmission. The hot/cold plush animals are perfect for fussy little ones. It seems to help soothe and comfort children. At Sheer Plain Solutions we carry the following plush animals:
Increased
blood flow occurs in heated parts of the body because heat tends to
relax the walls of blood vessels. That's one reason why sports doctors
recommend that you steer clear of the practice of heating up already
inflamed joints. Heat appears to be best for un-tightening muscles and
increasing overall flexibility. Although heating can reduce muscle
spasms after back injury, heat should not be used on sprained ankles or
strained muscles.
Cold Treatment
Cold
therapy can also reduce muscle spasms, and cold is noted for killing
pain, reducing swelling, and lowering metabolic activity. Cold' s
pain-killing effect is caused by its 'deadening' of nerve-cell
activity; hospital studies show that patients who use cold therapy on
injuries tend to require much less pain medication. This effect,
though, can sometimes be counterproductive; an athlete who has 'iced
down' an injured body part may get so much pain relief that he/she
returns to activity too soon. So when using cold therapy, remember that it is because of some form of injury, therefore please be careful before resuming activities.
Combined
with compression, cold can produce dramatic drops in tissue swelling,
because cold initially constricts the walls of blood vessels and
compression restricts the amount of blood which can reach an injured
body part (another therapeutic intervention, elevation, helps to
'drain' a damaged body region of excess fluid). Studies show that cold
produces large decreases in oedema (swelling) and better reduction in
discomfort, compared to heating.
- Cold
decreases muscle spasms by making muscles less sensitive to being
stretched, and, like heat, cold can be used to treat low-back pain.
Research suggests that cold works better for individuals who have had
back pain for more than 14 days, while heat may be more effective for
those with more recent pain.
The
proper duration of cold therapy is currently being hotly debated.
Traditionally, doctors have recommended applying cold packs or ice bags
to injured areas for 15-30 minutes at a time, but recent research
carried out at the University of Brussels indicates that the
permeability of lymphatic vessels decreases after about 10 minutes of
cold therapy. Since lymphatic vessels drain fluid away from injured
tissues and thereby relieve swelling, the Brussels researchers
recommend that cold be applied to damaged tissues in no longer than
10-minute intervals.
Consult your GP or other medical representative for professional advice before using heat or cold treatments.
This information can be found at:
http://www.warmbuddy.com/medical.html
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