Help with Flare-ups
 

What do you do when you have a bad flare-up? . Last night I got another flare-up after some soft tissue work and light stretching,, this has been happening the last few times I have seen a pt or chiro. I went on ice took a relafan and flexeril before going to bed and it just raged in the night . Much worse laying down . Finally at 3am I took a sleeping pill. The good news is I usually feel better in the am. Is sleeping on ice bad? That the ONLY thing that gives me some releif. I think hot baths might make it worse. I decided to give the pt a break for a week and maybe the chiro too-its not worth it if it makes it worse!!

I am curious what other people do and what if anything works for immediate relief.

You're not supposed to sleep on ice - especially if it's drug-aided sleep, mostly b/c you could cold-burn your skin. If your nerves are affected you may not be able to adequately judge when "enough is enough" for your muscles, too.

That being said, I've done it numerous times [and I'm willing to bet others have, too. ;-)] with a barrier (like terry cloth) to protect my skin and using either actual ice or a medical ice pack which will melt or thaw quickly enough that the risk is lessened. I definitely wouldn't try it with a blue-ice pack or similar.

I usually do what you described for flare ups.

I think you should talk with your PT and chiro if your treatments are making you worse rather than better; maybe they need to re-evaluate their treatment plan for you?

I'm sorry you are having such a hard time right now. :-( Hang in there.

When I'm having flares, I sleep on ice. It's not uncommon for me to replace the ice pack three or four times. I use it for hours and hours. Sometimes it's the only thing that makes the pain tolerable (even with lots of meds).

I go usually go straight to Norco/Vicodin when I have a bad flare. It covers the pain and I'm one of the lucky ones who doesn't have any major side effects from it. I can drive and I'm completely normal when I take it.

I was wondering if your flare is mostly muscle, nerve or vascular related?

I really agree with this suggestion-
[I think you should talk with your PT and chiro if your treatments are making you worse rather than better; maybe they need to re-evaluate their treatment plan for you?]

Maybe they are moving ahead to fast or being a bit too aggressive in their tx plan.
If they don't know you are flaring up they can't adjust the tx, but if they won't reassess & adjust, then say good bye to them.


I usually take some Aleve, heating pads - moist & infrared, IF stim, hot shower, basically heat works best for me with my myofascial/muscle pains.
If I have trouble getting to sleep due to discomfort I take a Tylenol PM (or a generic) or 2.

I was referring to nerve flare-ups. I have always had muscle pain, and am learning how to manage it with my stretches and anti-inflammatories,and had tRP injections and medrol dose pak a week ago. The nerve pain was better for a long time, ll of a sudden rearing its ugly head. The good news is I am starting to be able to differentiate which pain is which.

Yes I will definately be telling my docs about it-and am also going to take a bit of a break with all the therapies. THX,JKL