Hi, I'm Natalie here with Veritas Health, and today I'm going to give you guys some information on using heat therapy for hip pain.
Heat therapy can used for a number of different types of hip pain, such as arthritic pain, hip flexor pain, labral tear, bursitis but really any generalized hip pain you may have.
If this is new onset pain, that's acute and traumatic, so it happened within the last couple days, I would recommend not using heat for the first 72 hours, as during this time you are in the active inflammatory phase. Once you're past that 72 hours then you're welcome to start using heat as needed. If this is a chronic thing or something that you have with you, most of the time, it's okay to start using heat right away. Heat is gonna help with pain and healing because it provides superficial vasodilation or helps those blood vessels open up, which promotes blood flow, increases nutrients to the area, and helps promote healing. It also will help temporarily reduce your pain, which will give you an opportunity to live your daily life, go for a walk or do exercises, or perform any physical therapy exercises that are going to help with your long term healing.
When using heat, there are several different methods you can use. You can use an adhesive pad which can be applied directly to the skin. These are really helpful because you can wear them under your clothes and go about your daily life with them on. Another option is a gel pad that you can get at your pharmacy, these can be warmed up in the microwave, and then applied directly to the sore area. Finally, you can use an electric heating pad. These are helpful because they're larger they can cover a broad area, and they also have a timer to help you stay aware of how much time you've had it on.
As a rule of thumb, I would recommend heating your body for between 10 minutes and 30 minutes and do not exceed 30 minutes, as this can increase your chance of getting some skin damage or a superficial burn. Be mindful of any pain or redness while you're using it as these are signs that you may have some skin irritation.
Finally, if you have any topical over-the-counter or prescription medications on your skin, please remove these before using heat, as that can sometimes cause an uncomfortable chemical reaction.
To learn more about heat therapy for hip pain, please visit us at Arthritis-health.com and be sure to subscribe to our channel for more videos like this one. Thanks for watching!"
Recommended for You
