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The Benefits of Hot Therapy for lower back pain relief

Posted by Paul Iskyan on Mon, Mar 12, 2012 @ 15:55 PM

As an athlete, I can understand the pain you endure in your back. It can be uncomfortable at times and extremely excruciating at other times. Back pain can start as a mild, nagging pain and turn into a major pain in a matter of minutes so it becomes important to treat your back before the pain even starts.

back painWhat Causes Back Pain?

Before we get into the treatment talk let’s talk about why your back hurts so much. Back pain spawns from over-exertions and strains and this happens when tension is created within the soft tissue and muscle around the lower spine.


Now that you are more aware of what causes your back pain, you can successfully treat it. There are many ways that you have probably heard of when it comes to the treatment of your back, but some of them are useless unless you do it exactly right.

For some people, treatment with cold compresses is the best option but for others, the cold only makes the pain worse. You have more than likely experienced this for yourself. Typically, a warming process if used to treat back pain, usually through a warm bath or a hot bottle. However, there are many times when your back may hurt and you may be at work and cannot get into the bath or do not have access to a hot bottle.

If this becomes the case and most likely it does, a lot of the time you do not have to turn directly toward medications for relief. Instead, there are warming pads designed to be warn around the back for immediate relief. They are designed for lower back pain relief through loosening up muscles and reducing inflammation.

How Does Heat Help With Lower Back Pain Relief?

Much of the time understanding how something works is the most beneficial factor to it working at all.

Here is a detailed outline of how heat helps with lower back pain:

First, heat expands the blood vessels within the muscles that surround the lumbar spine, which upsurges flow of nutrients and oxygen so that damaged tissue can began to heal.

Second, heat is a stimulant to the body and since there are sensory receptors everywhere in the skin, heat travels very well. By applying heat, transmissions of pain that are continuously sent to the brain will decrease. Essentially, you are telling your brain, there is no pain here so stop fretting. Naturally, your brain listens and pain/discomfort decreases.

Finally, through continuous back pain you may start to feel a sensation of being very stiff. It can affect you so much so that you might feel as though you have trouble simply getting out of the bed in the mornings. If this is the case, heat can also loosen up the stiffness and provide more flexibility and that is so important for a healthy back.

Finding lower back pain relief is easier than most people think that it is and it starts with knowing how your back works and using heat on the right places. Medicine should only become an option when everything else has failed. There is a way to find back pain relief without soaking in the bath constantly or carrying around a hot bottle too. It comes in a wearable wrap-around and it is an essential product for your life if you are constantly feeling discomfort and pain. You do not have to live that way, not when the cure is just a step away.


photo credit:Chiropractic Louisville

Tags: back pain, jox, jox athletic shorts, back pain relief, heat, cold pax