Hey friends can someone tell me what is heat and cold therapy. My father is suffering from a severe back pain and is really very depressed due to that. Someone told me to give him the heat and cold therapy which will help him in getting recovered soon from this problem of back pain. I really don’t know what is it and how does it work so please give me your suggestions on it.

Hot and cold therapy is a regimen to where hot relaxes the muscles around the joint or area of the body and then cold tightens this area.
What this is thought to do, is to first promote blood supply and healing, then causes a structural toning of that part, as lower temperatures align.

This treatment is usually for extremities, only.
For lower back, I would consult a licensed physical therapist and an orthopedist?

While I suggest alternative therapies more often than most, in the case of back injuries, I'm strictly an adherent to Western Medicine.

Have your father see an MD, have him mention the depression, as well as the back symptoms. He needs more than hot and cold compresses, he needs prescription medication.

A former neighbor of mine was into Yoga and got her back hurt in a car accident. She went to a doctor who prescribed pain medications, muscle relaxants, and six weeks of bed rest. Her Yoga instructor advised her that her back pain had nothing to do with torn muscles, but were symptoms of her underlying resentment of the driver who caused the accident. He prescribed more back-stretching exercises.

She didn't recover as quickly as her doctor said she would (because it's hard for torn muscles to heal when being stretched three times a week), so she stopped listening to her doctor. Eighteen months later, her back was worse than ever, so she quit her job as an English professor at the local university and joined an ashram back east so she could dedicate more time to "healing her inner spirit".

I had a back spasm/torn back muscle, went to the doctor, got the same medication she was prescribed, took it, rested my back, and was essentially well after six weeks.

Avoid anyone's advice for back injuries but a Medical Doctor's. No herbal teas, no chiropractors, no yoga. MD's also have medications for depression that work remarkably well, too. Add psychologists to the list of practitioners to avoid, too.

Your father needs Vicoprofen (esp., if he drinks alcohol, as the acetaminophen in Vicoden destroys your liver if you also drink), Soma, Celexa, and bedrest. Generics are as good as the more-expensive brand-names.

I speak from experience on this. Medical doctors and *nobody else* for your father's conditions. Trust me.

osilot is right, go to an M.D. then refer elsewhere if suggested.

The heat and cold therapy is used in the cases of back pain problem. I came across this therapy last year when my uncle was recommended for it. We gathered a lot of details from a website for back pain treatment where we found the complete and detailed information about heat and cold therapy. I will suggest you to go through this link and I am sure you will get all the desired answers for your questions.