Do you have sore or stiff muscles? Try heating things up

If your muscles are sore after a workout or if your joints are stiff from arthritis, you might want to add heat therapy, also known as thermotherapy, to your wellness routine.

“Heat therapy is one of the safest and oldest pain remedies,” explains Dr. Amy Ford, a sports medicine physician at Aurora Health Care. “When you heat up a muscle or joint, your blood vessels dilate, allowing more blood, oxygen and nutrients to be delivered to the affected area. Heat therapy also promotes relaxation and reduces muscle spasms.”

Heat therapy uses moist or dry heat. Moist heat may penetrate the muscles more deeply, providing greater relief. Methods for moist heat include a damp towel, shower or bath. Dry heat options include heating pads, gel heat packs and heat wraps.

Dr. Ford recommends these tips for at-home heat therapy:

• Start the day with a long, warm shower to loosen joints and muscles stiff from sleep.
• Make your own warm compress by filling an old sock with rice and tie it off at the end. Microwave it until warm and wrap it around the affected area.
• Loosen up before a workout with a walk or warm shower.
• Apply a warm compress, hot water bottle or electric heating pad to the affected area.
• Soak in a warm bath at night to alleviate stiffness or pain caused by your daily activities.

You can repeat heat therapy several times throughout the day. Take a few minutes to stretch afterwards and allow the skin to cool down in between sessions. Also, drink water before and after a hot shower or bath.

“Be careful about overdoing it,” she advises. “It only takes about 20 minutes to get the full benefit. Also, the water or heating device temperature doesn’t need to be scalding; you don’t want to accidently burn yourself.”

Give heat therapy a try if you have:

• Arthritis
• Fibromyalgia
• Sore or strained muscles
• Neck or back pain
• Menstrual cramps

“Anyone, from the elderly to college athletes, can benefit from heat therapy,” Dr. Ford says. “However, it’s important to talk with your doctor before starting heat therapy, especially if you have a skin condition, heart problem or diabetes.”

In some cases, she recommends cryotherapy, also referred to as cold therapy, instead.

Cold therapy is more beneficial for the first few days after an injury. Avoid using heat therapy for the sudden onset of swelling or inflammation.

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