Muscle pain.

[DenisP]

Apparently the science, ie jury, is still out on the cold water thing, see: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241916.php

And read this: https://thedoctorweighsin.com/to-treat-sore-muscles-heat-or-cold/

Like anything when it comes to this sort of thing it starts out as a fad and people think something works only to find out later it didn't...or it did, time will tell, but I think I side with it not working due to the science behind how inflammation works as described in the second website I gave.

Huh, thank you for those sources. After reading through both, I kind of have to agree with you and say cold water “therapy” probably doesn’t help much. But like you said, the jury still seems to be out. We probably won’t know the actual answer until there are some real studies done on the matter, but I’m a man of science so naturally I’ll side with the results.

In any case, I still enjoy taking cold showers for the psychological effects—one can’t deny it takes some cojones to get in an ice cold shower as opposed to a warm, relaxing one—so some minor muscle pain relief, even if it’s just perceived, is just an added bonus to me.

 

[Kakashi]

I'm assuming the pain you're having is not associated with a physical activity? Because if it is then you're overworking yourself if you have to resort to all the stuff you mentioned especially the last two.

Anyway some pain relievers that are in the class of nsaids is potentially destructive toward your kidney, and it can cause the risk of a heart attack or stroke to increase, all of which is the reason I stay away from them as much as possible, I don't mean I never take Ibuprofen or the such I just take it very rarely.

I try not to take any anything for pain. I had lower back fusion surgery about 7 years ago and my sawbones said not to the ride the bike for 8 months...well 8 months is a very long time and I was going stir crazy just after a week! So 3 WEEKS after the surgery I was on the bike taking it slow and only did a 1/2 mile the first time, by the time 4 months were up I was doing 100 mile rides! In fact if I didn't ride my back would hurt, and when I did ride the back the whole time riding wouldn't hurt much, and the pain stayed on the low side for about 24 hours after riding toward that 3 to 4 month riding period; earlier when I first did the 1/2 mile ride the pain would taper down a bit for about an hour, so the pain got better as time went on. I never told my sawbones I was riding for fear of the tongue lashing I would probably receive. Sure I risked major reinjury had I had a bike accident but I felt the relief I got from the pain even though it was short lived, plus the exercise and the freedom from boredom was more than worth the risk. I was on pain meds right after the surgery for about 4 weeks but I was only doing 1/2 the recommended dosage, then for the next 4 weeks after that I was doing about 1/4th of the doc recommended dosage. It wasn't that I was pain free just felt I could deal with the pain I had.

Today my back is mostly fine, it only really acts up if I set in a chair that for some reason my back doesn't like. My sawbones also told me I wasn't ever supposed to lift more than 45 pounds for the rest of my life...right, I own rental property and I have to carry bags of stuff all the time, just this week I lifted and carried 18 bags of concrete mix that weighed 90 pounds each and my back was fine. Someone has to carry that stuff and I'm not going to hire someone to do that, so I did it, if I had felt something odd happening I would have found help because I don't want to risk increased damage either; so I'm not completely insane just partially!!

Painkillers like ibuprofen does have bad effects on the liver and kidneys if taken in large doses or long periods of time but I only use them for a short period a day or two until the pain subsides and dissapear. If in case the pain doesn't go away, it might be a pinch nerve or misaligned one or it might be a bone problem. In these cases I usially opt for a reflexologist or a trusted local bone setter or an acupuncturist which can cure it fast and easy. A lot of malls here has shops and clinics that provide such treatments and services.

 

[Froze]

Painkillers like ibuprofen does have bad effects on the liver and kidneys if taken in large doses or long periods of time but I only use them for a short period a day or two until the pain subsides and dissapear. If in case the pain doesn't go away, it might be a pinch nerve or misaligned one or it might be a bone problem. In these cases I usially opt for a reflexologist or a trusted local bone setter or an acupuncturist which can cure it fast and easy. A lot of malls here has shops and clinics that provide such treatments and services.

But are you doing those treatments due to cycling?