Hot / Cold Therapy in Baton Rouge LA

In office, we have access to a variety of therapies to help your spine heal in Baton Rouge LA. Depending on your symptom, one or more of the following may be recommended:

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Cryotherapy (Cold Therapy) in Baton Rouge LA

Purpose: Cold therapy stimulates vasoconstriction, the narrowing of blood vessels to slow down blood circulation in an area.

• Cold therapy alleviates pain and swelling after an injury.
  It is the preferred therapy for spinal pain within the first 72 hours.
• Cold decreases the flow of fluid into tissues and stunts the chemicals that inflame and cause pain.
• Cold decreases swelling and bleeding and nerve ending conduction of pain impulses.
• Deep tissue cooling with ice diminishes muscle spasm by lessening muscle contraction.

Note: If you have circulation problems, can’t feel cold or are allergic to cold, ice may not be the preferred therapy for you and may not be used.

Application: A towel is always put between you and the cold pack. Since swelling and pain often accompany acute injury in the first 72 hours after an injury, ice only may be applied. Ice alleviates inflammation and numbs the pain in short spurts like 10 minutes at a time.

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Thermotherapy (Heat Therapy)

Purpose: Heat therapy fosters vasodilation, the widening of blood vessels to bring more blood to an area.

• Heat is typically sedating due to its ability to decrease the transmission of pain signals and calm tense muscles.
  Heat opens blood vessels near a painful area, increasing
• oxygen and nutrient flow to the muscles which helps heal damaged tissue.
• Heat also reduces stiffness and increases flexibility which is most important in a healthy back to assist you in taking back your quality of life.

Application: In office, hot packs may be applied to your spine with a towel around them for 10 to 30 minutes.

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Cryotherapy/Thermotherapy Combined (Hot/Cold/Hot Therapy)

Purpose: Combining cryotherapy and thermotherapy is generally preferred. This allows stimulation of blood flow by bringing blood into a swollen and painful area with heat and pushing out the blood with an ice pack application.

Application: For nearly all of the patients coming to our office, a 10 minute hot/10 minute cold/10 minute hot routine is used. This routine is recognized as the Hunting’s Effect whereby too long an ice session reflexively forces the blood back into the inflamed area causing more pain. Hunting’s Effect is profitable for the body when you may find yourself in danger of severe cold, but not when attempting to manage pain and swelling. Heat eases muscles and joints and cold pushes out inflammation. A balance of the two is best.

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Cryotherapy/Thermotherapy/Electrotherapy Combined

Purpose: Often this hot/cold/hot therapy is used along with electrical stimulation which is extremely effective for your pain management. This produces stimulation of blood flow by drawing blood into an irritated and painful area with heat and driving out the blood with ice pack application and nerve pain sedation with electrotherapy.

Application: Generally each modality with cryotherapy or thermotherapy is 10 minutes each but may change depending on your condition.