Baby Grace

As massage therapists a question we are commonly asked is whether you should apply heat or cold to an injury or sore/tight area. The general consensus is that you should use cold on acute injuries and heat may be more appropriate for chronic injuries. You could use cold and hot packs to relieve the pain.

Acute injuries are sudden injuries and usually the result of an impact, a fall or a sprain. The cause of an acute injury is normally fairly clearly (or at least the time the injury occurs is apparent). The common signs of an acute injury generally include pain, swelling, tenderness at injury site and heat/redness.

A chronic injury tends to be slower to develop with no one single event triggering the injury. The injury is longstanding although may come and go. Typically it is the result of long term overuse but can also be the end result of an inadequately treated acute injury.

Hot or Cold?

Quite simply, acute injuries need to be treated with ice as it reduces inflammation at the injury site. When combined with compression, cold therapy initially constricts the blood vessels and reduces the amount of blood that can reach the injured area. This also has the outcome of limiting any bleeding at the site of the injury. Another benefit of cold therapy is that cold can decrease muscle spasm, reducing sensitivity to stretching.

The reduced swelling from using cold therapy allows greater movement in the injured muscle/joint and so reduces the functional loss related to the injury. The swelling associated with the inflammatory response may also produce an increased pressure in the tissue, leading to the area becoming more painful. This pain is believe to be intensified by chemicals that are released into the blood when tissue is damaged and so vasoconstriction from applying ice also decreases pain.

Normal procedure is to apply ice, wrapped in a towel or something similar (ice should not be left directly applied to the skin) for around 10-15 minutes at a time. The temperature at the injury site is then permitted to return to normal and then the ice is reapplied. This ice-on ice-off procedure can be repeated, for up to a couple of days for particularly nasty acute injuries. A form of ice that adapts to the shape of the injured area works best (hence the common suggestion of a packet of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel). Leaving the ice on for too long can result in ice burns/frostbite and the Hunting Response may result.

Application of ice is also useful in dealing with chronic injuries in athletes who are in training. For example, an athlete with a condition such as mild Achilles tendonitis who chooses to continue exercise may wish to ice the area after training (same 10-15 minutes on /off protocol applies).

Conversely heat is generally indicated in the treatment of chronic injuries. The application of superficial heat to an injured area can increase the flexibility of muscles, tendons and ligaments and also reduce any muscle spasms. The exact mechanism by which heat can reduce pain is not entirely clear although hypotheses are that heat inactivates nerve fibres or that heat may induce the release of endorphins.

Heat seems to work best for untightening muscles and improving flexibility. Blood flow increases in the heated areas of the body because the heat can relax the walls of the blood vessels. It is for this reason that it is generally not recommended to apply heat to an area that is already inflamed.

Moist heat is normally best and can be as simple as taking a bath or shower. Wet towels can also be used (but please ensure that the temperature is not too high as to cause burns). Never fall asleep when using any form of heat therapy.

As with any injury management, if excessive pain and discomfort persists after around 48 hours, then please consult your health professional.

Richard Lane

Richard Lane is a qualified remedial and sports massage therapist, providing mobile massage to the Inner West of Sydney. He provides website resources for Sydney Remedial Massage Therapists and also operates an Australian wide remedial massage directory including a listing for Massage Glenelg.

Flowers are one of the most popular kids wall decor for girls. Because the girls look dainty in white and pink, flowers are those that the parents just love to see in her nursery. It gives them that girly feeling seeing their daughter dressed in pink and wearing earrings. Girls are just so fun to dress up because the wives and other female relatives can have fun with her hair and let her use some hair clips and headbands. People love looking at an infant when she is all dressed up.

For the boys, one of the most popular kids wall art décor is cars. Oftentimes, people associate cars to the men because it is something that they like playing with. More so, cars are the things that people just love to tinker when they have nothing else to do. In addition, in the racing circuit, you would usually see men driver. There are, however, a few women, that drive too but not too many. When it comes to the maintenance of the cars, also men get down and dirty. Women can do some mechanic things too but you would see the men who do it more.

Get that your little Madonna Wannabe into the right zone at an early age. We have advantages at this age even if the tutu sets are of not right size because if brought a little big, the baby can wear it as a frock when she’s small and then wear it as a tee when she’s a little older something like a toddler.
Anyways we can get lot many varieties of how we would like to represent our little ones with a core fashion statement. And there are many convenient sources of getting the right match for the right ones through web, just on one click you can get the most trendiest baby clothing and birthday tutus from any where across the globe.

We can observe that smart parents and grandparents being conscious of their child development would do whatever they can to help improve this critical factor of life. At the same time, there are tons of great baby gifts & toys to help stimulate a baby’s brain. No guesses, amongst all the baby gifts and toys the best is still mommy. Any kind of Brainy Baby Einstein can ever take the place of a mother who is wonderful and charming who smiles, talks, sings, and plays with her dearest infant.

Facial brightening  serum are generally found in exclusive spas as part of a facial treatment. The type of facial treatments has been a beauty secret in the spa industry for a long time. Serums are liquid treatments high in concentrated ingredients to treat skin problems such as redness, fine lines, discoloration and dehydration.

Facial serums are fashioned to add extra nutrients to the deepest layers of the skin. This is due to the fact that facial serums contain anywhere from 10% to 70% active ingredients, whereas most facial moisturizers and lotions usually contain less than 10%. Furthermore, moisturizer and lotions only affect the top layer of the skin. Additionally, fluid facial serums usually do not carry binders and waxes as found in typical moisturizers.

Due to the high concentration of nutrients serums are fast acting and easily absorbed into the deepest layers of the skin. A serum nourishes, enhances, and boosts the natural ability of the skin to regenerate and moisturize it self. Consider a serum as a multi-vitamin for the face!