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486038 tn?1300063367

PT heat pads ok?

PT applied a BIG heat pad to my back, and now I'm moving slower than a turtle and walking worse than usual...  (don't feel to great either) I can't tell if it was all those weird excersises (my legs wouldn't cooperate, they shook for every one) or that hot heat pad that I laid on for 10 -15 minutes.

Should I ask them to nix the heat next time? They were trying to help my back, which was acting up after all those legs excercises.

I know hot showers are bad for me, they make me feel a lot worse, but I never really thought about heat pads, I suppose heat is heat, right?

So, what am I to say... I only have 2 more sessions this week and next week I'll HOPEFULLY have some sort of answers, or at least, well, moving toward SOMETHING (i hope and pray) after my NYU appt. on Monday. Is 2 more times going to hurt anything or do I say, no?

?????
~Sunnytoday~
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486038 tn?1300063367
hmmm... I will look into a cooling garment- but like all else in life, I'm waiting until next week, after my appt.

Does anyone know of a good place to buy such a thing, a cooling garment or hat, etc?

This would maybe allow me to work out again... getting hot was just not working, and I'm so glad, Quix, for this thread, it's very helpful for me! Heat has been one of my big problems here in the deep south, and with me loving hot showers, and being a out-doors lover, well, yeah, I had some real doozies- my symptoms would get a LOT worse, etc. when I overheated and that wasn't any fun... I actually found this forum while I was dealing with heat symptoms and going crazy and I posted and just never left!! Grin!

My back is a mess, where the LP was done, after PT today. I hope that tomorrow isn't rough with PT again. Ooopphhh. That was why they put heat on it in the first place. Sigh. :)

Again, thanks for this thread. I hope to try to 'exercise' in a modified way that doesn't overdo it for me, but keeps me in shape... and this will helps if I cool down before, during and after. Sounds simple now, why didn't i think of it? :)

~Sunnytoday~
Helpful - 0
147426 tn?1317265632
All of my reading suggests pre-cooling before exercise.  But, while watching the Olympics I saw an interview with the American entrant in the Women's Marathon.  She was wearing an "MS" cooling jacket to lower her body temp before the race (it was kind of muggy there).  I thought that was fascinating.

You should wear a cooling garment before, during and after exercising, that you pause during longer workouts to cool, that you drink cool fluids during the workout, and that you have good ventilation like a fan blowing on you during the workout if possible.  If it is at home pick a cool room (basement) pick a cool time (morning or late evening).  All of these things can allow you to continue being in good shape.

On the other hand, you have to balance the workout with your state.  If you are highly symptomatic and weak a workout can work against you and cause harm.  Sometimes it has to be enough just to maintain your fitness or even to just move a little.  Above all, with this disease you learn to listen to your body and try never to exceed your limits.  For most people that means just a day or two of fatigue.  For us it can be weeks of increased symptoms.

Quix
Helpful - 0
486038 tn?1300063367
Thanks Quix, that helped clear it up. I came home with a bad case of exhaustion, and couldn't quite understand it, and even my nap didn't quite help it go away.... most likely the heat. My mom just commented how my eye is drooping very badly today, and that could either be because I'm quite tired or because of the heat, I've noticed that either one of those can do that. (my left eye has drooped for the last year)

So, I've learned a new lesson... and I will be more careful! :) I've also found that if I do get too hot that luke-warm shower or 'cold' shower can help me feel better like you mentioned.

I never thought of cooling down BEFORE excersising, i just quit any type of excerisie that made my temp. rise becuase I couldn't handle all the strange and new symptoms every time I got warm. This was actually one of the symptoms that drove me to a neurologist, this problem with heat. I will have to try that. Thanks!

~Sunnytoday~
Helpful - 0
338416 tn?1420045702
I think that heat doesn't do any damage... but I have often noticed that new symptoms pop up after a hot shower, or after getting overheated.  That makes a lot of sense, Quix.  

If I have a serious muscular problem, like with my shoulders, then I opt for the heat to get some relief, and just sleep through the dizzies and fatigue later.  But I have to pick a day when nothing's going on!

My PT (years ago, nothing to do with my MS) treated my muscular problems with this cool ultrasound heating machine, then afterwards slapped a cold pack.  Ooh, that felt so good!  All those hot floppy muscles really liked the cold - it actually felt like the inflammation was going down, and helping to heal everything.
Helpful - 0
147426 tn?1317265632
Sunny, exactly!  It doesn't matter how the heat gets to your body - hot weather, hot showers, hot tubs, exercise (from internally raising your core temp), fever, heating pad, - all of these can bring on your old symptoms.  It can even make "subclinical" symptoms show up.   This means that the nerves are damaged, but the symptoms aren't noticeable yet, but, when overheated the damage to the nerves really shows up and you can get the new symptoms.

If people with MS want to exercise, then it is recommended that they cool their body first like with a cooling garment or a cool shower.

Q
Helpful - 0
486038 tn?1300063367
Thanks guys, I'll take up your suggestion, especially since my eyes are all blurry now... and that happens when I get hot. So heat is heat no matter how it's applied if it makes ya' feel bad don't do it- is the message I think I'm getting. :)

I will ask that we don't do heat next time, and hopefully that will help a bit. I do like my physical therapist, she is very nice and has spent most of her career working in the neurology field!
~Sunnytoday~
Helpful - 0
147426 tn?1317265632
the above comments were right on.  Anything that raises your core temp even a fraction of a degree can exacerbate (or exasperate) the MS.  This is bad.  A large heating pad can certainly do this.  Also, things that make you feel worse are things that make you feel worse and be worse.

You need to speak up to the PT and tell them that the heat is a no-no.  If the heat was today, then try a lukecool shower to bring your temp back up.  

The risk of heat is that occasionally it can cause permanent worsening.  The hot bath tst was stopped as a diagnostic test after a patient developed permanent paralysis.  Oooh, bummer!

quix
Helpful - 0
405614 tn?1329144114
I agree, heat is heat.

You could test it out; ask them to not use heat on your next visit.  If the exercises don't make you feel like you did last time, then it was probably the hot pad.

I learned the hard way to speak up at physical therapy; they don't always know what's best, and it helps them to have it pointed out if something is bothering you.

I went in to get help strengthening my quads after a knee surgery, and told the guy that my hips had been bothering me, too, probably bursitis.  He gave me some exercises to do that made my hips ache a little, then went on to try another one.  I told him "this is really bothering my hips", and he pushed me to try "just a little bit more".  I did, then said I had to quit.

I had trouble walking for several days after that.  I never went back to that office, and wrote a letter explaining why I was not going back.  I physical therapist is there to help their clients, not to hurt them.

Anyway, your physical therapist won't know that heat bothers you if you don't tell them, and you should know for sure if it is the hot pad that is bothering you.  A good physical therapist is happy to have input from their clients.

By the way, I have had some excellent physical therapists since then.  I found a place called In Touch PT, and they really are in touch with what their clients need.

I hope your next appointments leave you feeling better, and then with your answers from NYU, you will know just what direction to take your physical therapy to give you the most benefit with least pain.

Hugs,

Kathy
Helpful - 0
335728 tn?1331414412
I would say that anything that makes you feel crappy you should avoid...heating pads included!  I tried heat many times for the pain in my legs at the suggestion of the gp and all it did was cause the throbbing to increase and my head to feel wonky.  You are right, heat is heat regardless of what the source is and regardless of whether or not you have an MS diagnosis...if heat makes you feel crappy, avoid it altogether right?  Makes sense to me honey!

Lots of Hugs,

Rena
Helpful - 0
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