tips

How to use the heating compress

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A heating compress can be described as a “cold double compress” because the cold cloth is covered with a dry one to preserve the heat that is being drawn from the body into the underlying cloth. The dry cloth keeps the warmed air trapped inside.

Heating compress is best applied around the throat, around joints, to calf muscles, and on the abdomen (to address insomnia and constipation). The primary goal is to relieve congestion, although there is often a sedative/relaxation effect in the treated tissues, for example –

  • On the neck to treat sore throats and laryngitis.
  • For earaches, a similar process can be followed, wrapping a cloth under the chin to cover the ears and securing it with a pin or knot on the top of the head.

The compress is left on until it feels warm (up to 30 minutes). To achieve a stronger effect you may decide to re-apply cold, after it warms again the compress is left on for half an hour or up to 2 hours or overnight in home set up.

In additional, if the cloth is too wet the body may work too hard to heat the area up, possibly leading to a negative reaction, or if the area that is being treated does not warm up, this is considered a negative reaction.

How to use properly the Epsom salt bath?

How to use properly the Epsom salt bath?

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First of all let see and discuss why it is good to take hot bath with Epsom salt. As we all know we are getting our magnesium throughout the food on a daily basis but the modern farming methods do not emphasis crop rotation, a practice that helps maintain balance in the soil. As a result, the food we eat often contain less magnesium that is required for optimal body health.

Therefore, diffusion though the skin is often a more efficient method for magnesium absorption because some foods and medications inhibit optimal assimilation of magnesium through the digestive tract. Epsom salts baths, then, are a good option for increasing the body’s magnesium level.

Epsom salts can be used in a variety of temperature therapy applications –

  • Compress – mix 250 ml ( 1 cup ) of Epsom salts with 2 liters ( ½ gallon ) of warm water and place on or wrap around the sore area.
  • Hot bath – add 250 ml ( 1 cup ) of Epsom salts to a foot bath or 500 ml ( 2 cups ) to a hot full body bath, and soak for 15-20 minutes to help detoxify and soothe. The person should shower or rinse off afterward.

Epsom salts baths are often recommended following exercise or manual treatments lime massage therapy.

In our clinic of massage therapy in Oakville it is one of the most popular self-care recommendations after massage therapy treatments.