Column Should I Warm or Cool My Strained Back? When to Use Each Method Depending on One’s Lower Back Pain Treatment
September 20, 2024
When lower back pain occurs, many people are unsure whether they should warm or cool the area.
In fact, you can either warm or cool your lower back pain, but the important thing is to be able to tell the difference between lower back pain that should be warmed and lower back pain that should be cooled.
In this article, we will explain how to correctly distinguish between the two when treating lower back pain.
Symptoms and causes of lower back pain
Acute lower back pain
Also known as a strained back, this refers to lower back pain that occurs within four weeks of the onset of the condition.
A characteristic of this type of pain is that it feels like being pricked repeatedly with a needle every time you move. In some cases, the pain is so strong that movement becomes impossible.
In addition, it can sometimes cause a disc herniation in the lower back, which can in turn cause numbness in the buttocks and legs.
The cause of acute lower back pain is often damage to the muscles, joints and nerves in the lower back area.
Subacute lower back pain
If you fail to take appropriate measures for acute lower back pain and leave it untreated, it will gradually turn into subacute lower back pain. This refers to lower back pain that lasts between one and three months.
It is characterized by a dull ache that radiates over a wide area and does not have the sharp pain of acute lower back pain.
Subacute lower back pain is caused by the strain of everyday activities. It is often related to long periods of time spent in the same position, such as standing or sitting for long periods of time, including desk work and housework.
Chronic lower back pain
Chronic lower back pain refers to lower back pain that has persisted for more than three months. Poor blood circulation can cause muscles to stiffen, which in turn puts pressure on nerves and causes pain.
The pain is often mild, and is characterized by a dull, heavy soreness that affects the entire lower back.
If left untreated, the condition can worsen and progress to other conditions such as disc herniation.
Should it be warmed or cooled? The key points to take into consideration
The key to deciding whether to warm or cool is basically the length of time since the onset of the backache.
In the case of acute backache
Acute backache is caused by damage to the muscles, joints, nerves and other tissues in the lower back, and will cause a burning sensation immediately after the onset of pain. This indicates that inflammation is occurring, and in the case of acute backache, you should cool the affected area. At this time, if you warm the lower back, the backache will just grow worse, so be careful to avoid this.
When cooling down, use a cold compress or similar products. You can also use an ice pack like the ones used to keep food cold, but in that case, be careful not to apply it directly to the skin as it could cause frostbite, but instead wrap it in a towel before applying it.
In the case of subacute lower back pain
As mentioned above, subacute lower back pain is caused by the accumulation of day-to-day strain.
In the case of subacute lower back pain, warming the affected area will help relieve the pain.
In the case of chronic lower back pain
If you feel a constant, dull pain, you may want to rest, but long-term inactivity can induce muscle weakness and poor blood circulation in the affected areas. This can make the muscles stiff, and in many cases, the pain will become even stronger as the nerves are compressed.
In order to improve blood circulation, it is necessary to warm the affected area. Soaking in a bath to warm the whole body or using a pocket warmer or an electric blanket to warm the area may help to relieve lower back pain.
The treatment at our clinic
When you are suffering from lower back pain, it may be necessary to receive a more fundamental treatment.
This is why our clinic offers the Cellgel method, a treatment that repairs damaged intervertebral discs.
With our clinic’s Cellgel method, a drug is injected that fills the cracks in the intervertebral discs, and as it solidifies into a gel-like substance and fills the cracks, it acts as a fundamental treatment. The volume of the intervertebral discs do not decrease, and the drug remains in the intervertebral disc as a gel-like implant after the treatment, thus preserving the intervertebral discs.
If you are suffering from lower back pain, please consider a consultation at our clinic.
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