Heat and Ice

One of the many little juvenile Blue Tits that are 'stretching their wings' in and around my garden. This little chap landed on the rose bush just outside the kitchen window, giving me a rare photo opportunity.

It's a scorcher again today, 27+ degs outside. But, as ever, I shall be taking my hot water bottle to bed with me....

I thought I'd write a bit about my routines for controlling and easing muscle, joint and nerve pain. Basically, I try to avoid painkillers unless it gets unbearable. After years of being doped up on all sorts of horrible stuff, I prefer to keep a clear head and listen to my body, even if it's complaining. That leaves me with the main options of heat, cold and rest.

One of my routines is that every night I go to bed with my hot water bottle. Initially, whilst I'm reading in bed, I have it stuffed down behind my LHS lower back. The aim here is to ease the chronic tendon/ligament/muscle tightness and/or get a good blood supply to that area to provide any healing/growth needed. Once that's been in place for approx 20 mins, I then put the hot water bottle behind each scapular in turn. This is to ease the pain in the rotator cuff muscles. Once I've finished reading and settle down to sleep, I then alternate the application of heat to the front of both shoulders to promote good blood supply to the vulnerable tendons and bursa through the front of the shoulders and pecs muscles. If one shoulder is particularly painful, I'll keep the heat on it longer. Finally, if my hips/glutes are aching I'll apply the heat there as well before I eventually toss the hot water bottle out of bed and go to sleep. It may sound like a right old palaver but I think it's helped over the last 2 years and, even in this heat, I'll keep it up!

The other thing I do regularly is when I get home from table tennis on Tuesday evening, I immediately apply an ice pack to the right scapular and round the ribs, under the arm. Again, I'm targeting the rotator cuff muscles which are often stinging and fatigued. The aim is to help the soft tissues to eliminate waste products and recover more quickly, so that the arm/shoulder is ok enough for the pool on Wednesday morning. I'll keep the ice pack on for a good 30 mins making sure the whole shoulder structure is treated. I'll do this again once I get back from the pool on Wednesday morning.

Whenever I do my left shoulder physio (3 times a week), I put a heat pack around the joint afterwards for 20 mins. This really helps to ease the joint pain and hopefully promotes a good blood supply to aid healing of the 'frozen' capsule.

Finally, the other thing I do regularly is ice my right groin/inner thigh. It's another chronic problem and, I guess, some kind of tendonitis. When it flares up, I'll ice the area for a good 20 mins, 2 or 3 times a day.

The LHS lower back pain has eased off again this week which I'm extremely please about but I dare not get too excited. Time will tell.

Suddenly very tired so will leave it there.