How long can heat compress be used to relieve chronic pain?

Most chronic pain can be treated with hot compresses after entering the remission period. The duration of a single hot compress can be controlled to 15 to 20 minutes. Up to 3 to 4 times a day is enough. There is no need to deliberately increase the frequency and duration.

I met a girl who worked as an Internet copywriter at a rehabilitation studio before. She suffered from myofasciitis in her lower back for almost 7 months. When the pain was severe, it was difficult to even sit for half an hour. She finally entered the remission period after taking medicine and rehabilitation training. She always wanted to use hot compresses to loosen and relax her. She held a hot water bottle and applied it for more than 40 minutes at a time. Sometimes she could apply it for an hour while she was watching a drama and forgot about the time. However, she came back just a week later and said that the area where the application was applied on her waist was dark, and she was more prone to soreness and swelling than before. In fact, this is a typical misunderstanding of using hot compress. To put it bluntly, the function of hot compress is to use warm heat to relax tight muscles and fascia, open local blood vessels to speed up circulation, and take away inflammatory metabolic waste accumulated in soft tissues. It is like covering frozen dough to make it easier to knead, but you cover it too much. If the dough ferments for a long time, it will become stale and become unusable. After applying heat for more than 20 minutes, the metabolic rate of local tissues will rise too high, and additional strain will easily occur. If the skin is exposed to temperatures above 45°C for a long time, low-temperature burns may occur that you are not even aware of.

Of course, not all chronic pain relief periods are suitable for hot compresses. There are now different adaptation views in the industry. For example, for neuropathic chronic pain, such as postherpetic neuralgia and long-term pain caused by diabetic peripheral neuropathy, many specialists do not recommend hot compresses. The nerves of these patients are in a highly sensitive state. Warm stimulation will induce pathological nerve discharges, which will in turn aggravate acupuncture-like and discharge-like pain.； There are also chronic swelling and pain caused by varicose veins and venous thrombosis in the lower limbs. During the remission period, hot compresses will dilate blood vessels and increase the burden on venous return. Many patients will become more swollen after applying the compresses.

If you are not sure whether you can apply it, you can try it for 10 minutes first. The temperature should be controlled at 40~45℃. Just touch it to warm it without burning the skin. It is best to apply it with a thin layer of clothing. If you feel your whole body is relaxed and the pain is reduced after applying it, then you can continue to apply it for about 15 minutes. After applying it, it is best to move for two minutes to let the circulation move. The effect is much better than covering it all the time.； If you feel numbness, tingling, or more obvious swelling after applying it, don't force it. Relaxation by gentle rubbing or stretching will also work.