In the blink of an eye, an otherwise normal, healthy individual can receive serious injuries with long term consequences from a car accident. Whether you suffer from an injured back, a broken limb, or simply a sore neck, recovery can be a long and painful process.
Thanks to advances in traditional pain relief and treatments as well as further exploration into alternative healing methods, the recovery process does not have to take nearly as long nor does it need to be as painful. With over six million car accidents in the United States last year alone, almost half of which resulted in injuries, the need for pain relief and faster recovery time is becoming more and more important. A wide variety of products are available to the public that provide all types of therapy in the comfort of your own home.
Pain Relief Methods Depend on the Type of Injury
Before deciding what methods of pain management and rehabilitation to use, it is important to see a doctor after a car accident if you are in pain. Different types of injuries require different methods of recovery and pain relief, so be sure to get a thorough evaluation done by a physician.
If you have ever had to visit a physical therapist or sports therapist to recover from a previous injury, you have probably heard of the terms “TENS Unit” or “Electronic Muscle Stimulator”. The two devices, while very similar in appearance and function, use electronic pulses to treat pain in two different ways. A TENS Unit, or Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator, emits an electrical signal through two or more electrodes which stimulates neurons through your skin. The resulting stimulation is used to treat pain caused by damaged nerves. An Electronic Muscle Stimulator, or “EMS Unit”, uses similar electrical impulses at a low to cause specific muscle groups to contract. This type of therapy is widely used by hospitals and sports therapists to help treat muscular injuries and for re-education of paralyzed muscles. Often misconstrued as a substitution for exercise, Electronic Muscle Stimulation is also used to tone and restore muscles that have begun to atrophy.
While both TENS Units and EMS Units include self-adhesive electrode pads, some patients may begin to experience skin irritation from prolonged use. Tyco has released a Conductive TENS Unit Gel that can be used with either application and contains aloe vera to make the treatment more comfortable for your skin.
Heat Therapy vs. Cold Therapy
Heat therapy and cold therapy can be very effective in helping car accident victims deal with the pain during the recovery process. Not only do the two types of therapy take effect quicker than pain medications, but they also eliminate the risk factors associated with prescription medications such as misuse, abuse, and addiction. While some skeptics dismiss hot and cold therapy as “old-fashioned”, only somewhat effective, and time consuming to apply, technological breakthroughs have made these traditional methods of recovery ideal for some of the worst types of injuries.
Heat therapy is commonly used to relieve soreness and stiffness in muscles and soft tissue. This is especially useful for patients who have started to exercise again after recovering from an injury and are using muscles that have been dormant for some time. Heat therapy is available in an assortment of products and comes in three forms: moist heat, dry heat, and infrared heat. Dry heat is commonly found in electric heating pads and hot/cold gel pads, but has a tendency to leave the skin dehydrated. It lacks the ability to fully penetrate into muscles and soft tissue like moist and infrared heat, but is preferred by some people because of how easy it is to apply.
Moist heat is found in a wide variety of products. Some electric heating pads, such as the Theratherm Digital Moist Heating Pad and the Thermophore Automatic Moist Heat Pad, combine the convenience of an electric heating pad with the therapeutic benefits of moist heat. Unlike hot towels or moist heating devices that require you to heat them up first, the Theratherm and Thermophore heating pads provide a constant temperature for longer sessions. Besides being great for those recovering from car accidents, moist heating pads are widely used by people with arthritis. Other products, such as the Bed Buddy Body Wrap, Bed Buddy Joint Wrap, or the Bed Buddy Back Wrap, provide moist heat when placed in the microwave but do not require you to add water.
Infrared heat therapy is available in a variety of forms ranging from handheld devices such as the Light Relief