Can hot compress be used to relieve chronic pain? How long will it take to be effective?

In most cases, hot compresses can be used during the remission period of chronic pain. You can feel local tightness and soreness reduced within 10 to 30 minutes after a single hot compress. To obtain sustained relief, it usually takes 1 to 2 weeks.

In the past few years when I have been doing sports rehabilitation, the most common patients I have encountered are chronic lumbar muscle strain and shoulder and neck fasciitis caused by sitting for a long time. The basic relaxation plan during the remission period basically includes heating compresses. I used to have a girl who worked as an e-commerce operator. Her lumbar muscle strain caused recurring pain for more than 8 months. After the acute phase, she still got up early every day to lower her back. She was so stiff that she had to hold on to the table to stand up after sitting for 3 hours. She was too lazy to follow the rehabilitation exercises, so she applied heated coarse salt packs for 20 minutes every day when she got home from get off work. After applying it for 11 days, she came to me specifically and said that her lower back was only slightly sore after sitting for a whole day, and the previous pulling and painful feeling was basically gone.

However, this cannot be said to be too absolute. There are actually differences in the industry on whether hot compresses can be used for some chronic pains. The most typical ones are neuropathic pain, such as post-herpetic neuralgia and chronic pain caused by diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Some doctors believe that the nerves with this type of pain are in a highly sensitive state, and the temperature stimulation of hot compresses On the contrary, it will aggravate the abnormal discharge of the nerves and make the stinging and burning sensation more obvious. I met a 62-year-old aunt before. After the shingles healed, her ribs hurt for almost half a year. I heard from my neighbor that hot compresses were effective, so I applied a hot water bag at home. The pain was so bad that I couldn't sleep all night. I went to the hospital for a follow-up visit and found out that her condition was not suitable for hot compresses at all. There is also the remission period of gouty arthritis. There are also many clinical records showing that hot compresses will expand local blood vessels, which may cause urate crystals to precipitate and deposit, and may even induce acute redness, swelling and pain. In this case, even if there is no pain at ordinary times, do not use hot compresses casually.

Don’t be too hot when applying hot compresses. The temperature of 40 to 45°C is just right. It should be warm to the touch without scalding the skin. Don’t put a hot water bottle that has just been filled with boiling water directly on the skin. I have encountered someone who burned his waist with blisters before, but the gain outweighs the gain. Don’t apply for more than 30 minutes each time. If you apply it for too long, the local skin will be congested, which will cause extra soreness. If you are not sure whether your condition can be treated, it is always a good idea to ask your treating doctor first.