Hot and Cold Therapy Chiropractor Chicago

Do you suffer from pain and swelling after an injury?  Grandview Health Partners is a leading chiropractor clinic for ice and heat therapy in Chicago. We offer several treatment options including a natural solution to relieve and manage pain and swelling after an injury you may have sustained.

Understanding pain and swelling after an injury and how it affects you may help you relieve and manage it with routine chiropractic care at our clinic.

Chiropractor Using Hot and Cold Therapy in Chicago IL

Cross Chiropractic Center’s Use of Hot/Cold Therapy

In office, we have access to a number of therapies to help your spine heal. Depending on your symptom, one or more of the following may be recommended:

Cryotherapy (Cold Therapy)

Purpose: Cold therapy stimulates vasoconstriction, the narrowing of blood vessels to slow down blood circulation in an area.

  • Cold therapy reduces pain and swelling after an injury.
  • It is the preferred therapy for spinal pain within the first 72 hours.
  • Cold reduces the flow of fluid into tissues and slows the chemicals that inflame and cause pain.
  • Cold decreases swelling and bleeding and nerve ending conduction of pain impulses.
  • Deep tissue cooling with ice diminishes muscle spasm by lessening muscle contraction.

Note: If you have circulation issues, can’t feel cold or are allergic to cold, ice may not be the preferred therapy for you and may not be used.

Application: A towel is always put between you and the cold pack. Since inflammation and pain often accompany acute injury in the first 72 hours after an injury, ice only may be used. Ice reduces inflammation and numbs the pain in short spurts like 10 minutes at a time.

Thermotherapy (Heat Therapy)

Purpose: Heat therapy fosters vasodilation, the enlarging of blood vessels to bring more blood to an area.

  • Heat is typically sedating due to its nature to decrease the transmission of pain signals and calm tense muscles.
  • Heat enlarges blood vessels around a painful area, adding oxygen and nutrient flow to the muscles which aids in healing damaged tissue.
  • Heat also reduces stiffness and increases flexibility which is most important in a healthy back to help you regain your quality of life.

Application: In office, hot packs may be used on your spine with a towel around them for 10 to 30 minutes.

Cryotherapy/Thermotherapy Combined (Hot/Cold/Hot Therapy)

Purpose: Combining cryotherapy and thermotherapy is often preferred. This generates stimulation of blood flow by drawing blood into a swollen and painful area with heat and pushing out the blood with an ice pack application.

Application: For most patients coming to our office, a 10-minute hot/10 minute cold/10 minute hot routine is used. This routine is recognized as the Hunting’s Effect whereby too long an ice session reflexively forces the blood back into the swollen area resulting in more pain. Hunting’s Effect is useful to the body when you may find yourself in danger of severe cold, but not when trying to manage pain and swelling. Heat eases muscles and joints and cold drives out swelling. A balance of the two is best.

Cryotherapy/Thermotherapy/Electrotherapy Combined

Purpose: Often this hot/cold/hot therapy is applied along with electrical stimulation which is extremely effective for your pain alleviation. This generates stimulation of blood flow by drawing blood into a swollen and painful area with heat and driving out the blood with ice pack application and nerve pain sedation with electrotherapy.

Application: Generally, each modality with cryotherapy or thermotherapy is 10 minutes each but may change depending on your condition.

Talk with Grandview Health Partners about the sedating and healing properties of hot/cold therapy for you.

If you want to see if chiropractic care is right for your condition, please contact our chiropractors for ice and heat therapy in Chicago to get the appropriate treatment for you. Call or contact us today to schedule an appointment.

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