Pain Management and Heat Therapy

Recently, while I was leading a seminar on pain management at the public library in Muncie, a woman complained: "Whenever the weather changes I ache all over! What can I do about that?" I grinned. "Heat therapy! Better yet, hot and cold therapy."

While I did not address this topic in my book, "You Can Feel Better", I discovered this answer 17 years ago. I had joined the YMCA and had begun to swim and do weight training as part of my pain management program. The YMCA had both a hot tub and a sauna. So, I began to use them after my workouts.

One cold, rainy day I woke up full of aches and pains in my shoulders, back and legs. I was beside myself. I decided to go to the YMCA and use the hot tub and sauna. When I walked out an hour later, I felt like a new man. I had discovered the value of heat therapy!

My eyes were further opened when I went to a European Sauna in Germany the following summer. It was cold and damp, I was stiff from the all night flight, and full of jet lag. So, I walked to a near by sauna. The facility not only had three sauna cabins, each with a different temperature, but it also had cold dunking tanks and showers. I went into the sauna. 15 minutes later I came out steaming. I watched a graceful young woman slip in the dunking tank and swish back and forth. I decided to try it. The water was so cold I could hardly catch my breath! I got out, put on my robe and reclined on one of the lawn chairs provided. I felt tingly all over, as a feeling of intense relaxation washed over me. I repeated this routine two more times. When I walked out I felt like I had been reborn! Now I had discovered the value of hot and cold therapy.

Today I have a sauna and a hot tub at my house. I use them regularly as part of my pain management program. I usually take three rounds of heat therapy with a cold shower and rest in between. This type of hot and cold therapy is especially helpful when weather changes bring on aches and pains. It's not for everyone. But it might be worth a try.

Dr. Greene is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and a resident of Richmond, IN. He is also the author of Feeling Better: The Wisdom of the Doc, You Can Feel Better: How to cope with chronic pain and physical disabilities, and co-author of Walking Free: the Nellie Zimmerman Story.

For further information about his books, please visit www.densmorereid.com

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