C1 Chiropractic Health Centre is offering free on-line consultations for Bristol back pain sufferers. Free advice and tips are available on your back pain or backache if you email the clinic or visit the website:
www.c1healthcentre.co.uk
The clinic is staffed by experienced Chiropractors, acupuncture practitioners and sports injury therapists who have a wealth of experience in treating back pain. Chiropractors can offer alternative treatments to Osteopaths and Osteopathy for your back pain and are trained to provide precise spinal manipulations should it be required. Chiropractic is acknowledged as an effective treatment for back pain and particularly low-back pain.
Associated causes of back pain such as slipped discs, bulging discs, herniated discs and trapped nerves as well as the symptoms such as sciatica and muscle spasm can all be treated by a chiropractor.
Back pain symptoms may be eased by using ice over the painful area. Using an icepack or bag of frozen peas wrapped in a damp thin towel will have 2 major beneficial effects. Firstly ice in an analgesic (pain killer) and secondly ice will cool the area and reduce inflammation if present. As a pain killer ice is natural and if used correctly can block pain signals to the brain. Temperature sensors in the body transfer information to the brain quicker than that of pain information so if you place ice or heat over an area of pain you will feel better for a while. Cold also causes vasoconstriction, which is a narrowing of capillaries and blood vessels, and you reduce the flow of inflammatory substances to the injury site.
Heat creates vasodilation which allows more blood to travel to the area. If your body is suffering the effects of an inflammatory response, then this will travel via the blood stream in increased amounts. Cold on the other hand will have the reverse effect.
Both hot and cold will generally help to ease pain but once the temperature is removed the effects of the temperature will begin to show. Heat may increase symptoms of inflammation (you wouldn’t run a burnt finger under hot water would you?) and cold will reduce heat and inflammation.
If in doubt use cold!
Tags: C1 Chiropractic Health Centre, ice, posterior facet syndrome, Spinal manipulative therapy