Do Hot Packs help with Nerve Pain?
Nerve pains can be very debilitating and often affect the quality of your life. If you are a working mum who suffers from nerve pain and has a busy life at home and at work, you might have reached out for a hot pack to manage this pain. Heat has been commonly used for centuries to help with pain relief. In this blog lets discuss if a hot pack really helps with nerve pain and how to decide if it is the right for your nerve pain as compared to a cold pack. 
  
First lets discuss how a hot pack can help with nerve pain. When you apply a hot pack, it causes the blood vessels in the area to expand (vasodilatation) and this causes the blood to flow into the area. This flow of blood brings with it an influx of nutrients and oxygen, which helps with healing the area. It washes away the pain producing substances that may have accumulated there. This helps in healing the nerves and reducing the nerve pain. 
Heat also helps to increase muscle elasticity and induces relaxation, thus reducing muscle spasm. If the nerve pain is due to an irritation of the nerve from a tight muscle, as it is in most cases, this can be beneficial to reduce the nerve pain. If you have a muscle spasm or tightness or a sudden catch in your muscles or you wake up with stiffness in your joints or spine (back or neck) that increases you nerve pain then try to use a hot pack. However, applying a hot pack does not mean it guarantees pain relief as we also need to identify and manage the cause of the nerve pain.  
 
On the other hand a cold pack is more helpful with acute nerve pain as cold can help to ease the inflammation in the area. Cold packs are also very helpful to ease the soreness or achiness that you may feel due to the inflammation. When you apply a cold pack the blood vessels will shrink or constrict (vasoconstriction). This will slow down the blood flow to the area. This gives time to the body to wash out the swelling and inflammation in the painful area. There is a decreased inflammatory signal in that area, thus promoting healing. Cold also slows down the nerve conduction, the reason why we feel numb when we apply ice to an area. If you have nerve pain due to an acute injury or inflammation then a cold pack is beneficial for you. 

Please be mindful of not applying the hot or cold pack that is too hot/cold or going to sleep with a hot or cold pack on due to risk of burns. Another word of caution for those who suffer from diabetes or other neuropathies and cannot differentiate between hot and cold sensation. Please refrain from using a hot pack due to risk of burns/cold burns.

Watch this video for a deeper understanding on the use of hot and cold packs:


 
These are the general guidelines for the use of heat or cold packs but the final decision of whether you should use a hot pack or a cold pack depends on how your body responds to it.  Listen to your body on the body and see what works better for you. It is possible that this effect varies between different body parts and from one person to another. 

If you want to know the hot and cold packs that I use, you can find them HERE.
 
HERE is a free guide on "How can you manage your nerve pain?" where you can get more information about what are nerve pains, how do you know if you are suffering from nerve pains, simple solutions to manage your nerve pain and much more. 

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MEET SWATI

 
Hi there! 
I am Swati, an Executive Mum Power Coach and a Certified Posture Expert. I use my proven system to help mums of younger kids working in high-stress executive jobs manage their back, neck, and nerve pains, despite low energy levels and brain fog. I do all this without taking away a big chunk of their time out of their already busy day. This enables them to be more productive and capable professionals at work and guilt-free mums who can focus on their kids instead of always being distracted by pain. 



My passion for helping executive mums stems from my own experiences. I have been in the same boat and understand the frustration and helplessness of being in constant pain or being afraid to engage in activities due to the fear of pain. After two pregnancies in the span of three years and juggling my two kids, housework, and a demanding job, I was constantly in pain. The weight gain from motherhood added extra stress to my already overburdened spine and joints. I was stuck in a vicious cycle of weight loss and spinal/nerve pain that I just couldn’t break free from.

On top of the physical pain, I also suffered from adrenal fatigue. I often felt exhausted, waking up groggy even after a full night’s (10 to 12 plus hours!) sleep, and struggled with low energy levels and brain fog. Simple tasks became challenging, and I found myself forgetting things and unable to think clearly. It was incredibly frustrating and made it even harder to balance my professional responsibilities and family life.

My work involved long hours of standing during the day, prolonged hours on the laptop in the evening, and lots of running around and rocking my kids to sleep in between. Despite my knowledge and expertise in pain relief, I still found myself unable to escape the constant daily pain and fatigue.

Sitting at a desk job from 9 to 5, or longer, plus endless meetings that seem to go on forever. The frequent traveling, the uncomfortable hotel pillows that make it impossible to get a good night’s sleep—I’ve experienced it all. I remember not being able to share my discomfort at work because I felt like an imposter, talking about pain relief strategies and focusing on work while I was not able to achieve it myself. I didn’t disclose the extent of my pain and forgetfulness to my colleagues for years. Even though I loved my kids and my job, I couldn’t give 100% to either. The discomfort held me back from reaching my full potential, making me feel guilty as a mum and less productive at work. I felt like I was constantly running on empty, unable to catch a break from the pain and exhaustion.

finally got fed up after years of trying and decided to make a New Year’s resolution to get ‘healthy’ instead of focusing solely on my pain, fatigue, forgetfulness, and weight loss. When I shifted my focus to getting healthier by reducing the inflammation in my body and addressing my adrenal fatigue, the pain started to decrease, my energy levels and focus improved, and the pounds started shedding off too! That, of course, meant a happier spine, nerves, joints, and a happier me! Today, my neck, back, and nerve pain are down to zero, my knee pain has reduced by 75%, my brain fog has reduced drastically and my energy levels are higher than ever. I realized that I had been focusing on the wrong solutions for over a decade!

Now, my mission is to share my knowledge of pain relief and managing adrenal fatigue along with my personal experience with other mums, especially those with younger kids who work in high-stress executive jobs. My goal is to help you find lasting relief, boost your energy, and reclaim your life, just as I did. 

If you can relate to all this, you are not alone. As a mum, I have been there and done that—momma, I got you! I’ve helped hundreds of mums in this situation over the years find their solution to manage spinal and joint pains, low energy levels, and brain fog that hold them back. This enables them to feel confidently in control and empowers them to cultivate that confidence and productivity at work and enjoy being with their kids, to be able to run around with them without the fear of injury or pain.

Are you ready for this journey? Ask me how if you are curious.

Let's DO THIS!
xx Swati
** Executive Mum Power Coach **

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