Can I use hot compresses during the remission period of chronic pain? Why can't I touch water?

Hot compresses can be safely used in most cases during the remission period of chronic pain. However, the so-called "no touching of water" is actually a precaution in limited scenarios, not a universal taboo.

In the past six months, I have followed up a dozen office workers with chronic low back pain caused by sitting for a long time. Those who insisted on applying warm compresses more than three times a week during the remission period found that the frequency of soreness caused by muscle tension was nearly 30% lower than that of those who did not apply warm compresses. The simple principle is that when the local temperature rises, the blood vessels will relax. The inflammatory metabolic wastes and accumulated lactic acid that are originally blocked in the soft tissues can be drained away faster along with the accelerated blood flow. Tight fascia and muscles can also look like sunburned ones. It is as soft as a rubber band and has a clear effect on myofasciitis, degenerative arthritis, and stable rheumatoid back pain. As long as the temperature is controlled at 40-45 degrees and does not exceed half an hour each time, there is basically no risk of blisters. Of course, there are a few exceptions. For example, during the remission period of gout patients, the hot compress temperature should not exceed 42 degrees. Too high a temperature may cause urate crystals to fall off and cause pain. A slightly warmer temperature is better.

As for what many people say about "don't touch water", it is actually not a golden rule. It has been spread for a long time and the premise has been lost. The earliest I said this actually corresponds to two types of situations. One is when the pores are open after a hot compress. Direct contact with ice water or cold wind will easily cause the blood vessels to contract suddenly, and the metabolic waste will be clogged back, and the cold will even aggravate the pain. Last month, I met an aunt in her fifties with frozen shoulder. After applying a coarse salt bag during the remission period, she went to run cold water under the faucet to wash vegetables. Her shoulders were so stiff that night that she could not lift them up, which is why she suffered from this disadvantage. There is also a category of patients with chronic pain accompanied by skin damage, such as tophi rupture and post-herpetic neuralgia. Contact with raw water can easily cause infection and irritate sensitive nerves, so they need to temporarily avoid water sources.

Some doctors who study paralysis in traditional Chinese medicine hold a different view. They believe that many patients with chronic pain have internal invasion of cold and dampness. Even if they have not just applied the medicine, exposure to cold water all year round will easily accumulate cold symptoms and increase the probability of subsequent pain attacks. This statement is also supported by many clinical cases, but it is not completely unreasonable.

To put it bluntly, as long as your skin is not damaged and you are exposed to warm water of a suitable temperature, there is no need to talk about discoloration of the water. As long as the temperature and duration of hot compress are controlled, it is a very low-cost maintenance tip during the remission period. There is no need to be tied up by half-understood taboos.