Nobody likes suffering from aching joints. If you have arthritis, you know about the stiffness and soreness that plagues your joints all too well. Thankfully, there are several tools you can use to get relief. One of these is the use of hot and cold therapy.
The way that hot and cold therapy works involves helping out your body’s natural healing processes. For example, when you apply heat to an area that is giving you stiffness, your blood vessels will dilate. Your blood will also circulate better, and any muscle spasms you may have will go away. Applying heat to an affected area giving you discomfort will also reduce the aches you’re feeling. Applying something cold to an affected area will constrict blood vessels and become very effective at numbing soreness.
Before we get into how to make your own hot and cold pack, you should know that the temperature of your pack should not make things hurt even more. People will sometimes apply a heat pack that is too hot or a cold pack that is incredibly cold. The key is to avoid burning your skin with one. Feel into what temperature is the one you can tolerate the most comfortably. This will provide you with the benefits you are after without feeling even more discomfort.
You can go out and buy specially made hot and cold packs. However, if you need fast relief or want to go the more affordable route, making your own is a great alternative. All you need are a few products and ingredients that you probably already have around the house. These DIY hot and cold packs are used by a large number of the 54 million Americans who suffer from arthritis-related soreness and stiffness.
DIY Hot and Cold Packs
If you want to take hot and cold therapy into your own hands, you can follow our simple instructions for doing exactly that. Both hot and cold will ease any joint discomfort you may have. Combining the two therapies together will provide you with the most effective results.
How to Make a DIY Cold Pack
Let’s start by going over how to make a DIY cold pack. Before we get into it, remember to have some sort of barrier between your skin and the cold pack. This can be a paper towel or similar barrier, which will help your skin avoid becoming irritated. This DIY cold pack will work better than simply applying a bag of frozen peas to your body since it will mold to it much better. There won’t be any uncomfortable bumps from frozen veggies either!
You will need the following:
- Plastic freezer bag (either with 1 quart or 1 gallon capacity)
- 2 cups of water
- 1 cup of isopropyl alcohol
Once you have rounded up these supplies, do the following:
- Take one part of isopropyl alcohol and two parts of water and pour them into the freezer bag.
- Seal up the bag but remove all of the excess air from it before closing it.
- Place the sealed bag into another larger bag to avoid potential unwanted leaking.
- Place the bag into the freezer and an hour or more. This should give it enough time to turn into a gel-like texture. Since there is a significant amount of alcohol in the bag, it will not become frozen.
- After at least one hour, remove the bag from the freezer and wrap it in some paper towels.
- Once you are finished using it, put it back into the freezer.
That’s it! Making a cold pack is quite simple.
How to Make a DIY Heat Pack
Now that you have made a reusable cold pack, it is time to shift gears to make a heat pack. Making one of these will also be relatively simple since there are only a few ingredients and supplies needed. Here is what you will need:
- Cloth fabric (pillowcases work great)
- 4-6 cups of a natural filling (oats, uncooked rice, and flax seeds are popular filler material used)
- Needle & thread
- Dry aromatic herbs (optional)
Once you have what you need, do the following:
- Fill up the pillowcase with your chosen natural filler. Include the aromatic herbs as well. Maintain enough space for the filler to freely move around within the pillowcase.
- Take the needle and thread and sew the case closed.
- Place the pack into a microwave for 1-3 minutes.
- Remove from the microwave and apply it to the location of soreness or stiffness. Make sure you are using a towel between the pack and your skin to avoid burns.
Congratulations! You have now made your own hot and cold packs that will provide you with instant relief from any joint aches you may be suffering from. You will just want to pay attention to how long you are applying these packs to your skin. Avoid keeping them on your body for longer than 15 minutes per session. Ideally, you will be alternating between hot and cold packs in 15-minute chunks for 1-2 hours.
How to Remove Even More Soreness and Stiffness
As great as hot and cold therapy is, it will only provide you with a temporary fix for joint discomfort. If you want to get even more relief, as well as kickstart your body’s natural healing process, you can take a joint supplement. JointFuel360 is a popular supplement taking by people everywhere suffering from joint aches, soreness, and stiffness.
There are powerful antioxidants like resveratrol, along with anti-inflammatory ingredients like black pepper extract and turmeric, that help eliminate the discomfort you are feeling at the root. It is an excellent addition to your daily health regimen that you will be very grateful for taking.
Conclusion
Hot and cold therapy is a quick and easy way to reduce the symptoms of aching joints you may have. They can be reused many times and take away the discomfort that is stopping you from enjoying the rest of your day.
The post How to Make Your Own Hot and Cold Pack appeared first on JointFuel360 Official.
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