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
SOURCE: New Jersey Medical School
At UMDNJ--New Jersey Medical School -Researcher Finds Heat
Therapy More Effective Than Analgesics for Low Back Pain
Relief -Study Published in May 15 Issue of the Journal Spine
NEWARK, N.J.--(BW HealthWire)--May 15, 2002--Low level heat
therapy is more effective than over-the-counter oral medications
for relieving low back pain, according to the results of
a nationwide study led by a sports medicine researcher at
the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ).
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.
