|
New clinical research on pain offers evidence to establish
a novel class of pain -- "heat responsive pain" or HRP --
which encompasses several common pain conditions that can be
treated with the use of heat therapy. Researchers studying HRP
have observed remarkable therapeutic benefits by using
continuous low-level heat therapy for treating lower-back,
upper-body and menstrual pain, all conditions that fall under
the new HRP classification.
"For centuries, healthcare providers have used topical heat
to relieve minor aches and pains, but today, we are just
beginning to understand the full range of therapeutic benefits
that heat offers," said pain expert Peter Vicente, Ph.D.,
Past-President of the American Pain Society and Clinical
Health Psychologist, Riverhills Healthcare, Cincinnati, OH.
"Through new clinical research, we have found that heat
activates complex neurologic, vascular and metabolic
mechanisms to mediate the transmission of pain signals and
effectively provide relief for a variety of pain conditions."
Heat Therapy More Effective Than Analgesics for Low Back
Pain Relief
In the six-month study involving 371 patients, participants
were given the maximum recommended non-prescription dosages of
ibuprofen and acetaminophen or low level heat therapy for two
days to treat acute low back pain.
The results showed
that the low level heat therapy provided significantly more
pain relief beginning on the first day of treatment than the
oral analgesics and that the effects lasted more than 48 hours
after the treatment was completed.
"Although clinical
guidelines in the U.S. have recommended the use of
self-administered heat, this is the first study to compare the
effectiveness of topical heat treatment versus oral analgesics
for treating muscle pain and stiffness," according to Dr.
Scott F. Nadler, director of sports medicine at UMDNJ-New
Jersey Medical School in Newark and co-investigator of the
study.
"Confirming that this treatment is effective is
important to patients because it gives them a treatment option
that does not have the potential risk to the liver, kidneys,
and gastrointestinal tract than can accompany inappropriate
analgesic usage," said Dr. Nadler, who is also an associate
professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the
medical school.
|
