Do warm and cold compress help relieve low back pain?

The universal treatment that almost all doctors recommend for people with low back pain is warm or cold compress. There are some data to suggest that heat therapy is helpful when the pain is acute and the duration of pain is less than 3 months. However, many doctors continue to recommend these treatments for people who have had back pain for many years. 

Heat treatments comes in many forms –from hot water bottle, heating pads, electrical appliance pads and infrared lamps. The cold treatments come as cold ice pack, gels, cold towels and ice massages. However, the question is, “do warm or cold compress help relieve back pain which is long standing?”

A recent review of major studies on low back pain where both heat and cold treatments were used revealed the following. There was little benefit from both ice and heat treatment if the back pain was of more than 3 months in duration. However, if the back pain was of short duration, heat treatments only provided minimal relief that was of short duration. In some cases, addition of exercise did help reduce the pain and helped improve function. As far as cold treatment were concerned, there is very little data to support their use. Most people did have any benefit from cold treatments

So what should the consumer do?

If you have new onset of back pain, try some heat and start an exercise program. As far as ice packs are concerned, save your money for the pain pills.

Cold laser therapy: Scam or Sham treatment for Pain? part 3

Are there any side effects?

Sure, there are side effects. Trying zapping yourself with a laser. Nevertheless, the providers say there are no side effects

Are there any complications from the cold laser?

Sure, you go home with less money in your pockets after being treated with nonsensical therapy. Anytime you apply a laser, there is a chance of complication. There are ample testimonials on cyberspace which claim that there is intense pain from the treatment. The other major complication after cold laser therapy is that it does not work.

What are benefits of cold laser treatment?

- relief from pain
- increased ability of body to heal
- better blood supply to tissues
- enhanced immune system to help fight off toxins
- build up of new muscle and collagen
- promotion healing
- decreased inflammation

By the way, none of the above actually happens. These are just hypothetical statements made by vendors of the cold laser.

What is cost of cold laser therapy?

The cost of cold laser therapy depends on the medical disorder and how long the treatment is required. The treatment is not covered by Medicare or any private medical insurance. The average cost per session of cold laser therapy varies from $30-$100.

How many sessions does one need?

Many. No one ever gets cured with one session. If you sign up for more sessions, you also get a T-shirt saying that you are a sucker.

Final Note

Dear Consumers, Please do not fall these gimmicks. It seems that the bone doctors, naturopaths, therapists and everyone else in health care seem to think that lasers can do magic. Definitely Not. Lasers do have a role in medicine and do provide a lot of benefit. However, Cold laser therapy is just a gimmick and considered sham treatment. There are ample testimonials on cyberspace about cold laser therapy and how ineffective the treatment is. Therefore, before you enroll for any treatment, read about it, ask questions, get referrals, and discuss this with your doctor (as long as he/she is not the one providing this gimmick therapy). Sometimes in life, you live a lot longer and happier if you keep away from bogus treatments and charlatans.

Cold laser therapy: Scam or Sham treatment for Pain? part 2

Where is cold laser therapy done?

The treatment is performed as an outpatient at a clinic, salon, or a physician’s office. You lie down, make yourself comfortable and then the hand held laser is held close to skin and activated. The laser penetrates skin and generates heat in your body. The doctors claim that the heat then heals the tissues.

How many types of lasers are there?

Well, every week there is a new laser, there is a hot laser, fractional laser, cold laser, medium laser, soft laser, wrinkle laser, Fraxel laser, affirm laser, diode laser, CO2 laser and the list goes on. This should tell the consumer that there is no ideal laser that works. Just like weight loss gimmicks, lasers do not fare any better- at least when it comes to pain control or erasing wrinkles.

What can a cold laser treat?

Well, I think the question should be what it can’t treat? The providers of cold laser claim that it can heal and cure almost every type of bone, joint and muscle injury (if this was true, why do we still have more than 50 million individuals with arthritic and joint pain?)

The claims are that Cold laser can be used to treat the following injuries:

- traumatic injury to muscle
- traumatic injury to bone
- back pain
- neck pain
- shoulder pain
- elbow pain
- wrist pain
- chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia
- any joint pain
- any type of arthritis
- carpal tunnel syndrome
- tendinitis
- neuropathic pain
- sports related injuries
- strains and sprains

When does one see results with cold laser treatment?

Majority see no relief of anything, except less money in their pockets. The providers of this therapy claim that pain relief is not instantaneous. It can take several sessions of laser treatment to see pain relief (have you not heard this same line with the cosmetic surgeons and wrinkles!)

How long does each session last?

If you have mild pain, just one zap of the laser is ok and it takes a few minutes. A few seconds for the laser and several more minutes up at the cashier. If you have many joints that need treatment, it can take 20-30 minutes.

Cold laser therapy: Scam or Sham treatment for Pain?

What is cold laser therapy?

Lasers generate energy waves that are converted into heat. Now the orthopedic surgeons, therapists, and other health care professionals have become like cosmetic surgeons- making up new names for the same laser. Every week the cosmetologists release a new laser which is hyped up to be the best ever. The same trend is being followed by others in medicine. This fact alone should tell you that cold laser therapy is junk. Nevertheless, read on to find out more.

What exactly is cold laser therapy?

Cold laser therapy is a novel therapy to help people with musculoskeletal injuries recover faster. This means that there are a lot of desperate people with back pain who will be scammed of their hard-earned money. The providers of this therapy claim that cold laser utilizes advanced technology and allows the body to heal faster. The treatments are claimed to be fast, painless and effective- so what else is new?

What does cold laser therapy do?

Well, in reality it does nothing. The providers claim it is like acupuncture or acupressure. The laser has healing power and is supernatural; such BS is common in the ads. The cold laser generates rays of light, which penetrate your skin and then the heat, stimulates your body’s own tissues to heal (what a load of rubbish!). Lasers have been used in medicine for more than 30 years and how come not a single disease, symptom or illness has ever been cured?

Is there any research to show that cold laser can heal?

All the data on cold laser therapy are reports by the providers who sell this therapy. All this healing stuff is an illusion in the minds of the providers. Testimonials from patients claim that this cold laser is rubbish or s..t.