Stop The Heat!
I loved heat. Hot weather, hot compresses, hot showers and hot tubs. The more heat the better. A massage and heat. “The Best!” Heat was my friend. It provided a short lived form of relief and it would call me back for more at an increasingly high rate. So what was I supposed to do? Heat is can be used to reduce muscle spasms, relieve pain, reduce stiffness. What it does do to provide those benefits is it brings increased blood circulation to the area which promotes healing. What I didn’t know was that just like in cooking, when you remove something from the stove, the heat process from the hot water or compress continues to bring increased blood flow to the area.
Active Hyperemeria . It is an increase in arterial blood flow which causes the blood capillary pressure, (this is where exchange of fluid between the blood vessels and tissues occurs) to increase which allows water to flow out into the tissues. For those of us who have circulation, inflammation, swelling and edema difficulties, this is just setting us up for it to continue.
So how do you still enjoy the heat without the negative side effects? You can follow up any heat application with a cooling down portion. Cold therapy slows down blood flow to an area. If you use a hot pack for pain, follow it up with a cold pack to the area for a little. If you like hot showers, try turning off the hot water slowly and rinsing off with cool water. The cool feeling will help to slow the exchange of water into the tissues and leaves you feeling refreshed!
Paying attention to how often you use heat and making sure you follow up with a cooling off will overtime have your sore muscles feeling better and promotes an anti-inflammatory lifestyle.
