ICE OR HEAT?
HOW TO TREAT INJURIES AT HOME
Whenever we suffer an injury that doesn’t require a doctor visit, we are usually told to do one of two things: ice the area or apply heat to it.
Different injuries require different treatments. For example, applying heat to an ankle sprain will not help as much as applying ice. Let’s look at which injuries require heat or ice and how it relieves pain or reduces swelling. Injuries You Should Apply Ice To You want to apply ice to acute or short-term injuries. Acute injuries consist of ankle or knee sprains, muscle or joint sprains, red or swollen body parts, and pain after an exercise. Icing an area will lower the amount of swelling you have and make the healing process quicker. Be sure to limit icing sessions to 20 minutes. Over-icing can irritate your skin or cause tissue damage. If you have an ice pack or frozen packages in your freezer, you can use those to treat the painful areas. If not, you can put ice in a bag. Wrap it or any other item you’re using in a paper towel or washcloth before applying it to your skin. You should continue to ice your injury for the next two days. Injuries You Should Apply Heat To If you have chronic pain, it’s best to apply heat to that area. This pain can tell you that your body hasn’t fully healed from the injury.
You can use heat for muscle pain or soreness, stiff joints, arthritis, and recurring injuries.
Applying heat allows your blood vessels to expand and help your muscles relax. Only use heat in 20-minute increments and don’t sleep with any heating treatment. This can cause blisters, irritation, and maybe burns. You can use heat for 2–3 days after the injury occurs. Use a heating pad or a hot, wet towel, or take a hot shower or bath to relieve pain. An easy way to determine if you need to ice or heat an area is this: If it’s swollen, apply ice. If it’s stiff, use heat. But if you’re unsure if you should use ice or heat, or if the pain is still occurring after treatment, contact your PT for assistance. They will provide you with further treatment options to help you with your discomforts.
MY BACK HURTS! DOES MEDICARE COVER CHIROPRACTIC CARE?
Medicare will not pay for these services if ordered by a chiropractor. However, if other medical doctors ordered and performed a test, the chiropractor can use that information. But they cannot order procedures themselves with Medicare. If you have
Have you ever pulled a muscle in your back? Does your back hurt in general? Do you need to get it checked out by a chiropractor? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might want to know if Medicare covers chiropractic care. So, let’s take a look and see what chiropractic services are covered within your plan. Does Medicare cover chiropractic care? When looking at Medicare, part A and part B make up the Original Medicare. Part A helps cover your cost if you are in the hospital. Part B helps pay for doctor visits, lab tests, preventive services, and more. Medicare part B only covers certain chiropractic services, such as spinal manipulation or subluxation. Spinal manipulation is a technique where practitioners use their hands to apply pressure to a specific joint. Subluxation is when one or more of the bones in your spine move out of position. Which chiropractic services does Medicare not cover? There are more items that Medicare doesn’t cover within chiropractic care. For example, Medicare doesn’t cover laboratory tests, X-rays, office visits, injections, prescriptions, or diagnostic studies (like EKGs, acupuncture, and supplements).
private insurance there may be some additional
chiropractic care benefits that Original Medicare doesn’t offer.
Will Medicare expand to cover more chiropractic care? The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is working hard to increase Medicare’s coverage. The Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act has been introduced to the House of Representatives to allow coverage to items such as evaluation and management services, diagnostic imaging, and other services that are not covered by Medicare right now. If you have any questions about Medicare coverage, allow your friends at Omaha Insurance Solutions to help you. We would be happy to go through your Medicare plan and see what is and isn’t covered.
2 • OmahaInsuranceSolutions.com
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