Can heat compress be used during the remission period of chronic pain? Why?

The answer is that hot compresses can be used during the remission period of most chronic pains. Only a few special types of pain or those with special underlying diseases need to be avoided.

We often encounter chronic pain caused by lumbar muscle strain, degenerative knee arthritis, old cold legs, chronic frozen shoulder, and other strains or degenerative diseases. During the remission period, the pain itself is very mild, mostly discomfort caused by soreness, stiffness, and heaviness. At this time, hot compress is equivalent to "Loosening" tight soft tissues - warm stimulation will slightly expand local blood vessels. After running, the inflammatory factors and metabolic waste accumulated in the muscle fascia can be taken away faster, and the muscle fibers that were previously twisted into a ball will slowly relax, making you feel much more comfortable. I met a little girl who works in graphic design a while ago. Her lumbar muscles have been strained for almost 2 years. As long as she doesn't stay up late for a project, she almost doesn't feel any pain. However, her waist is as stiff as a slate after sitting for more than 3 hours. She goes home from get off work every day and applies a hot water bottle at about 42 degrees for 15 minutes, and then stretches her waist twice. The stiffness in her waist after waking up is relieved a lot. This is a typical application situation.

But this cannot be said too fully. It really needs to be broken down. For many special cases of chronic pain, it is not recommended to use hot compress even during the remission period. Doctors from different departments also have different emphasis on this matter. For example, doctors in the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology will generally remind you repeatedly that if you have chronic joint pain caused by autoimmune diseases, such as ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis, even in the remission period, as long as the joints are still a little red and feel warmer than other parts, do not use hot compresses. Otherwise, it is likely to stimulate the activation of latent inflammation and trigger an acute attack. There are also neuropathic chronic pains, such as post-herpetic neuralgia and lower limb pain caused by diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The nerves themselves are in a highly sensitive state. Even if the temperature of the hot compress is considered warm by ordinary people, it may stimulate abnormal nerve discharges and make the pain worse. Last week, there was an old man suffering from post-herpes zoster pain. He heard from his neighbor that hot compresses can relax the menstrual flow and activate the meridians. He filled a hot water bag and applied it for half an hour at home. As a result, the pain kept him awake all night. When he came to the doctor, he said that it felt like there were countless small needles pricking his skin. This was a typical taboo. In addition, if the location of chronic pain has unhealed skin damage or chronic soft tissue infection, hot compress may also accelerate the spread of inflammation and worsen the problem.

Even if it is determined that hot compress is suitable, don't be too arbitrary. The temperature should be controlled at 40 to 45 degrees. Don't fill a hot water bottle with freshly boiled water and apply it directly to the skin. Especially people with diabetes and insensitive peripheral nerves can easily be burned by low temperature. Applying for 15 to 20 minutes each time is enough. Applying for too long may cause local tissue edema. What is comfortable can cause trouble, and the gain is not worth the candle.