Hot or Cold? Choose Your Temperature Treatments for Arthritis

According to a recent article in US News & World Report, there is somewhere in the ballpark of 27 million people in the U.S. suffering from osteoarthritis (OA) and a large number with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). These two types of joint pain require different remedies for the achy, swollen feeling they cause.

Nothing is going to cure arthritis in patients, but heat or cold therapy may help lessen their pain, allow for better range of motion, and get them back into their daily routines and exercise regiments.

Here’s a quick and dirty guide for helping patients to decide between hot and cold therapy:

• Use heat to “thaw” frozen joints, typical of OA
• Use cold to constrict blood flow and cool down the burning sensation typical of RA

The article also suggests the use of a gel pack instead of the typical ice packs found in lunch boxes. Fleet Feet Sports, Syracuse carries  Therapearl. These reusable gel packs that can be either frozen for cold therapy or microwaved for heat and easily contour to the targeted area of the body.