When your trusted chiropractor is out sometimes you have to take care of the pain until they come back!

One way of treating pain is cryotherapy, or cold therapy. Cold therapy has been a way to relieve pain for thousands of years. Humans first used snow and ice but now it can be as simple as having a bag of your favorite frozen veggie applied to wherever you need it most.

Now with new technology we can treat wounds and sprains in all sorts of different ways using cold therapy. The John Hopkins website explains that these methods include ” icepacks, coolant sprays, ice massage, and whirlpools, or ice baths.”

They further explain that cryotherapy is the “I” part of R.I.C.E. A treatment used for injuries: Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.

Rest is when you halt the activity that may have caused the injury or exacerbates the injury.

Ice is applying the cold therapy to the injury.

Compression is applying pressure that can control swelling and pain. This includes Ace wraps. Make sure not to wrap it too tight! Numbness, tinging, and increased pain are signs that the bandage or compression garment is too tight. If you need to use this step for more than 48-72 hours consult a doctor because a more serious problem could be presenting itself.

Elevation is putting the injury up to improve blood flow in the area and minimize swelling.

John Hopkins also writes cryotherapy can be used for:

Runner’s knee Tendonitis Sprains Arthritis pain Pain and swelling after a hip or knee replacement To treat pain or swelling under a cast or a splint Lower back pain

The benefits of applying ice include:

It lowers your skin temperature. It reduces the nerve activity. It reduces pain and swelling. 

Applying cold therapy can be done 10-20 minutes several times a day. However, since it’s an extreme temperature, make sure you’re not damaging skin tissue.

A few warnings for cryotherapy like any other treatment: If the pain is not going away for a length of time, make sure you are seen by a doctor. And if you have medical condition like diabetes you may have to take extra precautions because of how well you can sense tissue being damaged. 

At Moskowitz Chiropractic you can find ice packs and Bio-freeze in gel and roll-on formulas to help you whether it’s late at night at or or you’re on the go!