Pain When does heat help, when does cold help?

Keep aching joints warm, cool with acute pain
Pain is unpleasant sensory perception that, whether it is acute or chronic, significantly limits the quality of life of sufferers. As the most natural forms of pain relief, many use heat or cold before resorting to the pain medication. In acute, ie sudden pain, such as ligament injuries, muscle or wound pain after surgery often helps with cold relief. On the other hand, heat is more useful for chronic, ie permanently occurring, complaints. Especially in some chronic diseases that are associated with pain, heat treatments - supplemented for example by radon - are often the only way to tackle the agony. In fibromyalgia, rheumatism or even nerve pain, painkillers often help only to a limited extent.

"Cold applications reduce the activity of pro-inflammatory messengers," explains internist Univ.-Doz. Dr. Bertram HölzI, scientific director of the Gasteiner Heilstollen. "This alleviates the acute pain in many cases, especially in sports injuries or in pain caused by inflammation." Especially ice packs, cold compresses or cold sprays are used. However, the applications should not last longer than five minutes. Even in some rheumatics cold acts against painful, inflammatory joint pain. However, the treatment should be discussed with the doctor, as short cold stimuli can also cause reactive heat in the joints. Many know this phenomenon in snowball forming with bare hands. It is cold for a short moment, afterwards the hands often become hot and red. This would increase inflammation.

However, most rheumatics benefit from heat treatments. They relieve pain and stiffness by promoting blood circulation. Many patients know from experience that rheumatism-damaged muscles also relax. So they usually have less pain in summer temperatures than in the freezing winter. Heat treatments with mud, fango or mud wraps usually work on affected areas for about 20 minutes. Doctors also offer infrared, ultrasound or high frequency therapies. Those who enjoy good heat usually also benefit from a cure in warm thermal galleries. There prevail temperatures of over 37.5 degrees and high humidity up to 100 percent. In the so-called Radonwärmetherapie additionally occurs from the mountain rock radon in small quantities. "The natural remedy radon stimulates the body's own cell repair and reduces the activity of painkillers. The less active they are, the less patients experience pain " Hölzl the effect.

"Pain relief up to complete symptom-free treatment lasts for up to nine months." Particularly patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases such as ankylosing spondylitis, polyarthritis, psoriatic arthritis or fibromyalgia and patients with chronic musculo-skeletal disorders achieve particularly good effects with radon heat therapy , Health insurance companies often pay for the therapy costs. (Pm)