Dakota Hot compresses can mostly be used during the remission period of chronic pain, but there is no absolutely unified answer. Contraindications must be ruled out before making a judgment.
Uncle Zhang, an old patient I met a while ago, had a history of lumbar protrusion for nearly 6 years. During the normal remission period, he almost didn’t feel any sharp pain, but his waist became stiff and tight after sitting for a long time. He found a habit by himself. He lay on the sofa every night and applied a hot water bottle with a suitable temperature for 20 minutes. The tightness in his waist was relieved in ten minutes. After applying it for several days, the slight pulling sensation in the buttocks was also eliminated. In fact, the reason is not complicated. During the remission period of chronic pain, there is usually no acute redness, swelling and pain, and there is no active inflammatory exudation in the local area. After the temperature of the hot compress penetrates, it can expand the local blood vessels, and the lactic acid and inflammatory metabolic waste originally accumulated in the muscles and fascia can follow the blood. Fluid circulation is drained away faster, and tight muscles and soft tissues can also be relaxed. It has a particularly obvious effect in relieving chronic pain caused by strain and degeneration. Many people with cold legs and shoulder and neck fasciitis apply warm patches to the painful areas in advance as soon as the temperature cools down. This is a rule that they have figured out.
But this cannot be said with absolute certainty. Doctors in different clinical departments have different judgment standards. I once met a patient with a 10-year history of gout. He heard others say that hot compresses were comfortable. During the remission period, he applied a hot water bag to his ankle joint for half an hour. The pain was so bad that he couldn't get out of bed that night, and he had an acute attack. Most doctors in the rheumatology department will clearly remind gout patients that even if they are in remission, they should try not to apply heat to the painful area. Temperature changes may loosen the locally deposited urate crystals, which may easily induce acute inflammation. In addition, if the chronic pain is cancer pain, or the painful area has skin ulceration or infection, or it is neuropathic pain such as post-herpetic neuralgia, it is not recommended to apply hot compress casually. The former may accelerate local blood circulation due to temperature stimulation, which poses uncertain health risks. The latter is because nerves are already in a highly sensitive state, so hot compress will aggravate the pain, which is not worth the gain.
In fact, ordinary people don't need to worry too much. If it is chronic pain caused by strain or degeneration, during the remission period, the painful area will not be hot or swollen, nor will the skin be broken. First, try a warm towel for 5 minutes. If you feel no discomfort, you can apply it normally. The temperature should be controlled between 40 and 45 degrees. Don't be too fond of high temperatures to make the skin red, which may easily lead to low-temperature burns.
