Arthritis Pain Relief - Which is Better, Hot Or Cold?

Knowing whether to use heat therapy or cold therapy to reduce arthritis pain
and joint stiffness comes down to the type of arthritis and the type of pain
you have. Since everyone experiences and responds to pain differently, it is
important that you discuss a pain management plan with your doctor. You may
have to try several things to see what works.

When to Use Ice to Treat Arthritis Pain

According to Dr. Kevin Sperber, Board Certified Pain Management Specialist at
Columbia University, "As a general rule of thumb, ice is best for soft tissue
injuries such as bruises, sprains or acute trauma. Cold therapy may also be
helpful if you experience a flare of pain after activity. Cold acts as an
analgesic by numbing the sore area and can also drastically reduce swelling
and discomfort."

Traditionally, doctors recommend cold packs be applied for only 10-20 minutes
at a time. Be careful though! With prolonged application of cold you could
hurt yourself, especially if you have sensory problems or impaired vascular
circulation in your hands and feet.

When to Use Heat to Treat Arthritis Pain

Doctors and therapists recommend therapeutic heat more often than cold to
soothe arthritis pain because it relaxes sore tendons and ligaments,
increasing flexibility and decreasing pain. Heat also increases blood flow
and improves joint range of motion.

So why the debate over hot or cold? Dr. Sperber says that for acute injuries
(sprains, strains, etc.) just about everyone recommends ice, but for chronic
conditions, like arthritis, both cold and heat can help to reduce
inflammation, so it may come down to what feels better.

As for how heat should be used, there are competing problems. The trick is to
get enough heat into the tissue, for long enough, without burning your skin.
For example, hands heat up fairly easily because the tissue is not "deep",
but for deep tissue pain, in the hip for instance, you may need to apply a
lower temperature for a longer time. There are specific products that address
these issues and each product comes with recommended time usage guidelines.

Most Popular Cold Therapy Products:

* Frozen Gel Cold Packs. Save your frozen peas and use a pliable, reusable
"ice pack" instead. ColPaC makes them in lots of sizes and shapes. Keep ice
packs in the freezer and they'll be ready whenever you have a flare-up.
Remember to use layers of dry terry toweling between the cold pack and your
skin.

* Biofreeze. This topical pain reliever is highly recommended for temporary
relief of arthritis, tendonitis and fybromyalgia. You can order it in a tube,
roll-on, spray or gel pump.

Most Popular Hot Therapy Products:

* Whirlpool Spa or Hot Tub. For most arthritis sufferers, hydrotherapy is the
ultimate heat therapy. For a fraction of the cost of installing a permanent
spa you can have a portable, inflatable whirlpool spa that goes anywhere -
indoors, outdoors, on your patio, deck, RV, condo or apartment. We suggest
the Spa2Go or the Spa-N-A-Box. Both are easy to assemble (20 minutes) and no
special wiring or plumbing is needed.

* Infrared Heat. Sometimes deep penetrating heat is just what you need to
reduce your arthritis pain. The Thermotex Infrared Heating Pad TTS Platinum
model is the most popular model, although there are other Thermotex therapy
systems available. The TTS Platinum is a nice portable size (17" x 15") and
has adjustable straps so you can fit it comfortably almost anywhere on the
body.

* Light Relief Light Therapy. This hand-held device provides topical heating
to raise and/or maintain tissue temperature wherever it is placed. My
grandmother uses it to relieve joint pain and she loves it. It can even help
dogs.

* Paraffin Bath. Dip your hands, feet or elbows in melted paraffin wax and
let the warmth spread through your stiff arthritic joints for fast acting,
drug-free therapy. The most popular one on the market is the Therabath PRO
Paraffin Bath. This unit is large enough to accommodate your hands, feet or
elbows but small enough to fit on your counter. It includes hospital grade
paraffin with your choice of scents.

* Moist Heat. Arthritic and rheumatic pain is often relieved with moist heat.
Moist heat increases blood flow, soothing inflamed joints and increasing
flexibility. Take a look at the Theratherm Digital Electric Moist Heating
Pad, the Thermophore Automatic Moist Heat Pack or the new Thermophore
Arthritis Pad. There is also a Therabeads Moist Heat Mitt that you wear on
your hands.

* Arthritis Gloves. These specially designed arthritis gloves provide mild
compression and warmth for your hands. Some people wear them day and night.
They have open fingertips so your can feel, touch and grip.

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How to Use Arthritis Gloves

Arthritis gloves are used as a way to treat arthritis of the hand. These
gloves allow someone who is suffering from this condition to be able to move
their hands and use their fingers as they were once used to before they
became afflicted with the arthritis condition.

Different Forms of Arthritis

There are many forms of arthritis. The most common type is that which affects
older people, although some younger people have been affected with arthritis
as well. This condition involves a breaking down of the joints, swelling and
pain and eventually the inability to use the joints. Arthritis can affect any
joint and most often affects the fingers. People who have arthritis in their
hands begin to experience pain when they are going about their every day
tasks. The pain eventually keeps getting increasingly worse - to the point
where only medical treatment can help.

How Arthritis Diagnosis is Done

A doctor will do a blood test and take some X-rays to make a diagnosis of
arthritis. In many cases, based on the symptoms, the doctor will be able to
make a clinical diagnosis of the condition right away. In the case where the
arthritis is primarily affecting the hands, the doctor will most likely
advise wearing specially designed gloves to help with the condition.

Managing the Pain of Arthritis

Arthritis gloves can be found in any store that sell surgical and medical
equipment and even in your local drug store. They are the best alternative
when it comes to treating this condition without medication. Most doctors
will advise that you take an ibuprofen if you feel the pain from the
arthritis condition. There are studies, however, that indicate that taking
too much ibuprofen can be detrimental to your health. Studies have linked
this medication with stomach disorders, liver disorders and even stomach
cancer. Taking too much over the counter pain medication is never a good idea
as it can cause numerous problems in the digestive tract.

In addition to gloves, alternate therapy is also used in the treatment of
arthritis. This involves physical therapy on the hands that is effective for
keeping the hands mobile with as little pain as possible. Many people who
have advanced arthritis in the hands will find that their joints swell so
much to the point where the hands become deformed and unable to perform the
most basic functions. This can be avoided by using physical therapy to treat
the arthritis condition.

Staving off Arthritis in the Early Stages

If you feel a cracking and swelling in the joints of your fingers as well as
pain in the hands after you have completed a task, you may be suffering from
the early onset of arthritis. Although this condition is not a life
threatening condition, it can be very painful and can end up causing you to
eliminate activities that you once enjoyed. In order to stop arthritis in its
tracks, you need to do what you can do to stave off the condition.

Massage your hands gently to make sure that you have good blood flow
throughout the fingers and hands. Keep your hands warm as the cold will make
the arthritic condition even worse. Before becoming reliant on pain
medication, consider wearing arthritis gloves that will alleviate the pain
and allow you to perform tasks that you are used to performing without
incurring pain.

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Arthritis Gloves - At Last, Relief From the Pain of Hand Arthritis

You've got that nagging pain in your finger joints again. Blast this
arthritis! Many people are now discovering an aid to the overcoming the
discomfort of this crippling condition - arthritis gloves. Why stop doing
the things that you love like sewing or playing golf just because of
arthritis in your hands?

These gloves work by providing warmth and gentle compression. The warmth is
naturally generated from the skin and directed back to the body. This helps
to increase blood flow to the fingers that brings oxygen and nutrients to the
area to help repair any damaged tissues. The compression helps to reduce any
inflammation, which is a significant cause of arthritis pain.

If you are on the look out for some of these gloves, here is a quick guide to
some of the features you should consider.

Are they anatomically fitted? The purpose of the gloves is to provide mild
compression and to keep the heat in. For this to be effective you have to
have a product that is well engineered to fit snugly to the body.

Do they come in a range of sizes? This is not the sort of product where a
one-size-fits-all will work. You want a product that is made to your size.
Remember you could be wearing it for long periods so make sure they are
comfortable.

Full or fingerless? This is your choice. If you want a glove that you can
wear at night you may want to opt for a full glove. On the other hand you
may find that a fingerless glove is more practical for wearing through the
day. This will still provide warmth but you will find it easier to carry out
your day-to-day chores.

What sort of fabric? You don't want sweat to build up inside your arthritis
gloves so choose a breathable fabric. Also daytime gloves should ideally
have a textured finish to help you grip things. If you start dropping things
like cups and saucers you won't use your gloves for very long.

Arthritis gloves are very easy to use and don't need batteries or any outside
source of heat to provide the warmth. And at a time where there is an
increasing concern about the side effects of the various treatments on offer,
you'll be glad to know that there are no side effects with these gloves.

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